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The two couples' honeymoon ended all too soon, with the foursome tearfully telling the Blacks about Hank and Lillian's upcoming bundle of joy. As expected, Jerry and Carey Black were happy for the couple and offered their help in any way possible. Carey knew they had things planned so didn't inquire about their living arrangements, only asking that Hank support his child as much as he could. Lillian told her parents about their future grandchild and got the expected shunning from her mother Bea but did get a crack in her father Asa's tough exterior. Asa didn't want to harm his first grandchild so was offering to help them in any way, offering a job to Lillian so she could earn some money to support her child until Hank got on his feet. It was happily accepted, with Bea being told that they were not going to break apart a loving and fruitful marriage just so she could claim her daughter was married to a millionaire and could climb the area's social hierarchy. Matt's presence was noted, Asa was no fool and knew that he had a well- paying job and support as well as hearing things about Matt's future. He would be an asset to the Rose family, the Blacks were a fine family on their own and whose family fortune was more than the fortune of the guy his wife was trying to arrange Lillian's marriage to. Lillian was well- off, Bea just didn't know that yet. Baby fever struck Betty but Matt refused to harm here medical career by getting her pregnant. The two had many arguments but his love and logic won the day forcing her to back down and see that he cared about her, he wasn't domineering her like she claimed. Betty would have to endure being an aunt and an older sister until they were ready for parenthood, with her younger brother Richard as well as Hank and Lillian's upcoming son Jerome giving them the reality check that she needed. Matt spent all of his junior and senior year working with the NEW to reorganize their staff and weed out those who refused to change with the times or who were only hired because they were friends with the former head of NEW, King Reign. King tried his hardest to keep their jobs but it was hard to justify their employment with few of their ideas ever used and those that were turned out to get people, other than King's handpicked talent, hurt. It wasn't a surprise regarding the outcomes, they were often meant, "To keep the kids in check" rather than develop them making their loss a benefit for NEW. Matt ran a tight ship and wouldn't let any of the wrestlers get out of line nor break his strict "no drugs" policy. He wasn't fooling around, he buried then fired one of the hottest rookies in the NEW when he watched the man openly snort cocaine in the locker room before a match. King Reign screamed at Matt for ruining his own plans for the guy, but Matt held firm and stated word for word the GCW's own policy on drug use with emphasis on use while working causing King to justify breaking the rules. The NEW rookies who had been through the GCW before were able to help Matt keep the wrestlers in line, but it was taxing on him and often led to Matt spending more and more time at home recovering from sleepless nights studying hard for tests then rewriting scripts and showing moves to the rookies. Betty and his parents had a strong fear that Matt would burn out fast if he didn't slow down, putting their foot down when he tried to go with the NEW on their annual tour of the UK so he could focus on school and Betty. He agreed, but only if she kept him up to date on what was happening overseas. Betty kept his mind occupied, working him hard at studying and then having him dress as Taylor so he'd be more relaxed allowing him to give himself time to be who he was without making himself sick from the constant pressure of writing. Lillian would often come by with little Jerome, giving Taylor a chance to act like an adult for the night as well as giving the trio a, "Girls night in" as they enjoyed a movie while Jerome slept. Jerome took to his aunt and didn't hesitate at times in the same what that he did when he met other new people, somehow showing that he knew Taylor was known to him but not understanding how. The forced relaxation worked as Matt focused on his classes and finishing his degree while easing up on the NEW allowing his writing staff to take over more of the menial work that he had been doing for them. Matt spent most weekends at home typing changes to scripts while dressed as Taylor, with Betty working and Lillian coming by to ensure that Taylor took breaks and to decompress from dealing with her mother's complaints. She and Taylor bonded more than they had before, with Lillian letting Taylor mother Jerome as she relaxed next to them. Graduation wasn't much to write home about, with Betty and Matt earning spots in the University of Orlando medical school. The two would be together for the first time in four years, with Matt loving the chance to study alongside his wife while also enjoying a chance to unwind and be his own person. The school all but ignored Matt the past two years, his reputation and connections prevented anyone from harassing him while the school's lawyers kept administrators from retaliating against him for what the administrators saw as him abandoning them and costing them money from publicity due to his NCAA wrestling championship his sophomore year. Medical school was long, tough, but was fun for Matt. He spent a lot of his free time as Taylor as he went out on the town without anyone noticing nor caring. He was just another student, his classmates were focused on their own careers and didn't socialize except to hook-up with one another allowing the couple to enjoy private time as Taylor and occasionally Ben and Taylor. The couple had to endure long hours in class and in the hospital, with lectures that were boring yet gave them insights that they needed to know. The gross anatomy phase of it was unnerving to them but it was part of dealing with being a doctor and once they got over the shock it became easier on them. It helped that they joined a study group that met at their house, which the other students appreciated as the couple was the only ones who didn't have roommates who couldn't stomach the material learned or who sponged off of them to get free medical care. Year 2 was tougher, as they got to see life from the doctor's perspective as they learned directly from the doctors in a hospital and saw the sad part of medicine as the human element was brought in. Matt had a couple of shocks as his group met with a former wrestler, Killer Gagne, who was in the hospital for surgery and who made a scene out of Matt being there. Killer was happy to see a familiar face but embarrassed Matt as he recalled the cute little boy that he had bounced on his knee while his parents were busy working. It was helping Killer so their attending doctor allowed the bit of nostalgia to go on. After they moved on, they stopped for a second and were told, "This was an unexpected lesson for you. You might encounter people that you have met before and who is in failing health. It's unavoidable, it's going to happen. Don't let it affect your diagnostics. It is painful, but it is part of the job that we all have to deal with." The situation hit Matt hard, but he understood why it needed to be dealt with in the way it was. He had to spend the evening as Taylor to relieve grief that someone he knew was ill and he couldn't help him, she was more caring than Matt so she was his outlet for that grief. Killer Gagne would get better, but it was still sad to know that someone who had known her all of her life was hurt. Taylor came out on weekends more as the couple went to parties or danced at nightclubs, all while trying to avoid being picked up by guys and girls. It was great fun and one night saw Ben going with Taylor so she didn't have to endure the predators but did endure some ladies who didn't mind that Taylor was a guy inside her panties or that Ben was a girl inside his boxers. The two happily recalled the night to a happy Lillian while Hank shook his head in disappointment over the whole situation. Year 3 saw the couple helping out a fellow doctor who was kicked out of her apartment due to the other roommates finding out about her gender change. She was desperate and the couple couldn't deny her help as they saw in her what could have been Taylor had she not had her family's support. The couple set rules for their new roommate but it wasn't needed, she was just happy to have a place to stay. The couple didn't dress as Taylor or Ben while they housed their classmate, but she found out about Taylor's existence through her looking at their high school and college photo albums. She insisted on meeting Taylor then insisted on Taylor being herself as she wasn't comfortable with her suppressing her female side from anyone, especially someone who dealt with her gender identity for years before she gave in and forced her parents to allow her to transition. Taylor was shown off and she got some tips on how to hide her masculine features then how to act more like she wasn't afraid yet still be on guard for trouble. It was something that Taylor needed, it was the advice from someone who had been there and lived the tough existence while she started down her road to being a woman that Taylor hadn't heard from the ladies in the LGBT+ group at her old school. Taylor and she worked hard on perfecting Taylor the lady, all while Betty kept quiet and saw just how the session was helping their tenant excise her own demons and deal with her past. The trio spent the next two years helping one another, with Matt deciding against joining his tenant as an orthopedic surgeon. Matt kept to his specialty of sports medicine and chose a split residency that gave him three years of diagnostic and work experience, finding out early in his rotations that he didn't have the focus to become a surgeon but having a strong ability to diagnose injuries and deal with the after-effects of surgery for those same injuries. Betty became an emergency department physician with a specialty in traumatic injuries, with the two knowing that one day they would practice alongside one another in some capacity as it would be tough for her not to help if she was present for an emergency. Graduating from medical school was tough on all three, especially as they said goodbye to their tenant as she took a residency in Miami with Matt facilitating finding her a place to stay. Her new home was with a former member of their LGBT+ group in college, the two having hit things off immediately and were showing a spark that both needed. It grew to love with Matt and Betty being asked to attend their upcoming wedding the following Spring as maid of honor and "father" of the bride. Matt's residency was fraught with issues as the strain of long nights and 48-hour shifts in the hospital took their toll on his mental health. Betty was no better than him, she endured lots of trouble as she saw horrific things that made her at times want to give up medicine. It didn't help much that by the end of the first year of residency she had become pregnant with their first child, forcing her to slow down and extend her residency a year. Matt became a model father, constantly taking care of their newborn son, Vincent Wallace Simpson, while Betty was at the hospital. His parents were there to help as much as possible, loving little Vinny and showing him off to the NEW folks whenever possible. Matt's work with them dwindled a lot, but he was doing a lot of the fine tuning from home and allowing his writers freedom that built up their confidence in their writing. After a long 11 years of college and medical training, Matt finally earned his certifications. He was free to finally follow his dreams and become a wrestler, but only after he and Betty were comfortable. Vinny was a handful, but the couple endured and after a few months of searching found a hospital who had a solid daycare for him allowing the couple to become doctors. Vinny grew accustomed to Matt becoming Taylor and saw her as another aunt. He loved "Aunt Taylor" more than his father, with Taylor understanding that it was his toddler logic at work especially as she wasn't as inclined to discipline the boy for acting up or breaking the rules like Matt was. The little boy was happy for his father, with Taylor being told that he loved his daddy even if he was his auntie. On the weekends, Matt would oversee the NEW directly. His medical training came in handy as he could spot injuries as they happened and informed the writers to prepare for the inevitable news as he knew who would need time off and who needed surgery with months away from the NEW. He clashed with the medical staff at times as they thought he was being too conservative but when the scans came back as being just as he expected they didn't dare question their colleague anymore. Matt's actions infuriated King Reign, who complained about the high turnover at NEW and the lack of wrestlers who could become jobbers for him. Matt asked if he had a problem with trying to protect the injured, causing King to seethe in defeat. Matt wouldn't back down, he already saved multiple careers and stopped growing drug problems from developing while saving NEW and GCW from another drug scandal- something King wanted desperately to avoid thanks to his own past run-ins with drugs. After two months at the helm Matt started to work in the ring more often, barely a day went by that he wasn't in the ring showcasing moves and working with the wrestlers to make his vision come to life. He was feeling the passion burn bright, so much so that the trainers felt that he needed to stop acting the part and become what he had put off. Matt was too good not to be performing in front of crowds, Matt was a great athlete who had skills to pull off moves that other male wrestlers couldn't and had the mind to foresee where matches should go to make them the most entertaining they could be. After talking with Betty and asking the unaware Vinny what he should do, Matt resigned from his job at the hospital and registered with a local wrestling school. He didn't really need to go to the school, but without some statement from a reputable school, Matt was facing an uphill challenge. It was easier to just show his stuff, impress the owner, then have him sign off on Matt's abilities before he could sign on with any independent promotion without getting others upset at him for showing special favor. Matt's small size was an issue but the owner of the school knew Matt extremely well, considering that he was the wrestler that Matt had encountered in medical school and who had pictures of the boy with him backstage at several events: Killer Gagne. Matt was not only, "Graduated" from the school but got strong recommendations from him and multiple other schools which would make any promotion think twice about refusing to sign him. He was a treasure to the promotions, especially as he could do duty as a doctor to them with Matt's blessing and an increase in his fees. Matt worked on his character for the next three months at the wrestling school, designing his trunks and boots to match his style and personality, then adding a mask as an homage to his mentor, the multi- time champion Impossible. He ran the idea by Impossible who not only approved but agreed that if he ever wrestled in Mexico he could call himself "Hijo De Impossible" as a link to each other. Matt was visibly floored, it was the highest honor you could receive as a luchador and one that Matt couldn't believe Impossible would allow. Matt was able to move quickly and was a master of strikes as well as hip tosses. His biggest issue was the brute strength of others had to mitigate somehow, which led to Matt seeing no choice but to be a high- flier. The fliers performed the most dangerous maneuvers in wrestling, requiring perfect timing and a willingness to sacrifice their bodies to sell the moves while also enduring great strains from the shock from the impacts of hitting others from up to 20 feet above. Matt worked for two months to learn his moves, working with Impossible and his luchador colleagues as they visited the town to learn moonsaults, hurricaranas, frog splashes, frankensteiners, baseball slides, and suicide dives from the ropes and each level of the turnbuckles. It was excruciatingly painful at times as Matt learned to take bumps and wait for the right second to have the fellow wrestler in right position before making his jumps. Several times he missed and hit the mat hard, causing him to wince in pain while his opponent had him do it again and again until he learned his timing to the point that he could hit the mark each time. He was needed a lot of work on his turnbuckle holds and tosses, more so than he could have thought. He was strong everywhere else, but he never had to use the turnbuckles before as he was banned from using them in the GCW and NEW when he was showing the wrestlers what he wanted them to do. He was a fast learner, but it still took weeks to perfect his work. Impossible worked with him on his techniques, working to adapt several convincing holds away from the turnbuckles that Matt could do with flair like the Muta Lock or a reverse sharpshooter. Matt did best with the Muta lock, especially as he could do it from anywhere close and used his quickness and smaller size to make it look more painful while giving the wrestler a rest at times as the move wasn't as bad as it really looked when done right. The lock was something Impossible approved of, it gave Matt his own style different from others. The Muta Lock was simple. It involved Matt getting his opponent off of his feet onto his stomach then bending backward to grab the guy's head while bending his legs back towards his own back. It was tough to watch but it was easy to practice and execute, with only a quick execution being key. Betty wasn't happy that he risked injury so much. He was going to be prone to concussions and tearing ligaments from the landings while making others look good. She hoped that he would stick to a striker style but it didn't work with how he was presenting out there. Vinny giggled every time he saw his father getting dressed for wrestling, knowing that he was going to have a lot of fun with someone else while mommy cringed and tried not to swear. Betty looked over at her son and saw the love for his father, it was tough to tell Matt off but it was tougher to see Matt get hurt. Vinny didn't understand the dangers, he only saw daddy having fun with other people. Betty asked him firmly if he was doing this because of love or repressing his inner being as Taylor. Matt refused to answer her nor did he take her bait when she tried multiple ways of asking the same question but from different angles. He chose to take the high road and asked if she thought that he was a fool in following his passion the way he needed to so he could be the best that he could be or if she was only really upset that he might hurt himself trying to follow his passion. She sighed and asked if he remembered the last time he actually dressed as Taylor. Matt honestly could not recall, to which she stated a firm, "The day after Vinny's birthday. The day we had sex without you needing aspirin to kick in. The day we conceived our next son." Matt stopped in his tracks and looked at her, then saw as she raised her blouse to show him a slightly bulging womb. She nodded, tearfully telling him, "It was four months ago. You never noticed I haven't had my period nor that I had morning sickness. I'm pregnant again, with another boy. I'm sorry that we got so frisky the worst night of the month but I'm not sorry that we are having our second child." Matt sighed and sat down with his head in his hands, looking down in shame as he tried again to think of a way of describing what he was doing and why it wasn't pushing his desire to be Taylor away. He hated that he was harming Betty, but it was a burning desire that was burning hotter than being Taylor. Looking away, he finally confessed, "I have been so busy that I haven't had the urge to be her. It's like how I was in high school, I got so busy that I couldn't be her often junior and senior years. Without Hank and the guys around the urges grew too great and you made me become Taylor to vent steam and enjoy girl-time with you. I love that about you, but I needed to do this for me and I can't do it as Taylor. Nobody would understand, I know that there are a half-dozen or so transgender wrestlers but being so close to the GCW and Vince is just going to be too much publicity and negative reactions towards you, Vinny, and little Davis Jerome. Yes, I want to name our son after Impossible. He's like an uncle to me and it would be an honor to him to name our child after the man I care so much about." The two hugged while Vinny honed in on their affections. He asked why Matt was crying, getting a soft, "Your mommy is having another baby. You are going to have a little brother in five months. I'm going away for a day, your Aunt Taylor is staying with you. She'd love it if you played with her." Vinny cheered, happy to see his beloved auntie again even if his daddy was really her under the makeup and dress. Vinny didn't know why his daddy became his auntie, he just loved her as much as anyone and saw her as fun even if his daddy was just as fun. He really wanted the special meals that they made while Aunt Taylor visited, the dessert was always the best and no kid could resist her glazed cake and sweet drinks that he didn't know was simply soda and juice combined. Taylor emerged an hour later, with Vinny kissing her and saying, "You are pretty even as daddy." In his three-year-old logic, it was the best possible thing that could be said to Taylor, especially as she smiled back at him and kissed his cheek. Taylor did have to admit that she felt better now that she was released and apologized profusely to Betty and little Davis for not coming out sooner. Taylor spent the weekend at the house before Matt emerged again. Vinny looked disappointed, but Matt explained to him that his aunt needed to go away for a bit but would be back soon. She would come out again, he couldn't deny his inner desire anymore and with Vinny's approval, he had to be her again. Matt got good enough to audition for the Gulf Wrestling Federation, a small independent promotion around the Orlando area. They didn't even need to look at him performing, they hired him on the spot to work their shows while telling him that he didn't need to get training as he had the best of the best looking out for him. Matt begged to differ, but it didn't matter as his name was pretty big among locals especially the wrestlers who had heard through the grapevine that he was turning pro. Matt's high-flying moves were great additions to the GWFs' repertoire as he could get the crowd fired up for the later events while he worked his way up the ladder. He wasn't going to make much money, just $150-$300 a week at best, but he did get paid a tidy sum from the GWF for his medical work as he was cheaper than one of the local doctors and knew more about the injuries received than the doctor. The poor guy was out of his league, he was a family practice specialist which was a far cry from being Matt's orthopedist with sports medicine focus. Betty and Vinny attended each match and kept Matt from trying to run the other matches. He was only there to work his own match, unless someone was hurt he didn't have to do anything else. It was just an independent show, there wasn't much storytelling needed as it was exaggerated for the crowds' fun. Matt grew in popularity as he performed, so much so that within two months he had gained a solid fanbase who were itching for him to get a title shot at the annual independent wrestling showcase in Orlando. He wasn't getting it though. As much as he did for the company, they still felt that he was too small and not going to do anything more for them even with crowds cheering for him. After being snubbed, Matt moved on to another promotion, the Sunshine Wrestling League. The promotion was more of the same, with Matt working hard in the ring making others look good but being denied his shot at a title despite fans being adamant that the smaller, faster, more popular Matt get his shot. He was doing well enough to get a big spot on the posters planted around the region advertising their shows, but not enough for them to give him a title shot. He was making decent money performing four nights a week for $400 plus another $500 for being the company's resident doctor, but his take-home pay was less than half of what the larger guys got before the addition of his medical pay. The ladies were getting about the same amount as him, with the ladies complaining that he was worth three times what he was making. He shot back that they were the same, they were performing more shows and had to entice the crowds during breaks in the action by trying to get people to buy their merchandise and perform dance routines in the ring. After six months of four nights a week of action, Matt moved on again. It was a pain to leave but he just wasn't going anywhere with the SWL and was getting better offers from promotions in Tampa, Miami, Ft. Myers, Pensacola, and even Jacksonville. He was making $300 a night, his increase in his appearance fees was going to be $500 allowing him some more leeway in his bookings but having to travel farther away to reach the various cities they were performing in. Betty complained about him being away but understood why he was doing it and agreed to be there for him even if she didn't like him going away so much. She was working part-time at her hospital, it was a strain on her to need babysitters and her parents were having issues as it were with juggling her brother Richard's schedule as well as her brother Hank's infrequent visits. She didn't want to use her parents so much, and it was tough to ask Matt's parents for help especially with Vinny starting to get old enough to be curious about girls and their differences from boys- like his father at the same age. Betty gave birth to Davis while Matt was in the middle of his SWL run and was suffering from a strong case of postpartum depression which Matt didn't notice. Her parents helped her through the worst of it, but Matt needed to take a more active role in his family's life or he risked losing the love of his life. He took the news hard and vowed to be there for Betty, Davis, and Vinny but needed to keep working hard and if it meant that he was away from them most nights then it was the best that he could do. Betty insisted that he cut back on the number of nights that he worked, allowing him three nights a week and barred him from working far off shows. It stung but it wasn't unreasonable, especially as it was not much of a request and he could easily do it without harming his career. He worked a contract with his new employers to only work three nights, with Pensacola being written specifically as a place he was not going to perform at regardless of how much they needed him. The Florida Wrestling Alliance was better organized and had strong followings across multiple cities. Matt's request was reasonable but they felt that he was overstepping his worth in demanding to omit the Pensacola tour. Matt had support though, several of the wrestlers on the roster were alumnae of NEW so knew him personally and stood up for Matt and his worth to them even if the owners didn't see it. Matt was hired on reputation among fans alone, they hadn't checked into his past or else they would have seen that the 12 years of experience as a producer and booker. He had more experience than the FWA's own bookers, with the guys writing and producing being new to the sport or sons of the owners. The reaction to the news made the rounds of the men's and women's locker rooms, with Matt being the one person in the FWA who might make it out of the FWA and into the NEW- and all that without using his own personal connections to the NEW and GCW. During the far-off shows, Matt talked a lot with the ladies. He was a rarity among the wrestlers, he was like another girl as he spoke and treated them like equals or betters. Most of the FWA males treated the ladies like eye-candy and didn't respect their work, Matt would, "Talk shop" with them so they could improve their performances and give the crowds a better show. His closeness became a boon for him as he was reluctantly asked by the owners to perform with the ladies in a few of their matches due to one of the ladies dropping out due to medical necessity. He knew the truth, the young woman had become pregnant and was dropped by the company, "For the safety of herself" but in reality, it was firing her without firing her. It stunk, but it was how things went with the independent business especially with the younger ladies who had no clout. Matt talked with the ladies about the matches and used them as a way of getting the ladies over. He would be in a mask and only called by the name "Ara?a" during the matches and would never speak. He wore a singlet was basically a glorified bra and pantie set but covered up most of his body leaving little to see that would give away who was really underneath the mask. Thankfully for Matt, he had done what a lot of pro wrestlers do and had laser hair removal of his face arms, chest, legs, back, and armpits during medical school. Nobody ever questioned why he had it done as it was common for wrestlers to do it, especially those who perform in trunks instead of the larger singlets. The fact that Taylor benefited from the removal was unspoken, she was why he really did it. The ladies had a blast as Matt was a great partner and made them work hard but made them look good. He couldn't help but have fun, smiling as they worked the crowd into a frenzy with the quick moves and constantly changing positions. He lost each of his matches dressed as "Ara?a" but it was just for a few days, only until they could find a new girl to replace the girl who was let go. Matt made friends with the ladies and revealed to them that he had dressed as a girl in the past as part of his schools' traditions but what he did for them was something else entirely. They knew about his past with the NEW and GCW, but him actually performing as a girl was something that was the stuff of legends among the ladies. Matt didn't dwell on it, it was his duty to help them out. Seeing a chance to capitalize on Matt's closeness, the FWA asked him to perform more shows. Matt had to outright refuse, to which they tried to threaten that they'd have to drop at least one of the ladies if he didn't perform with them. Matt refused, then asked if they were willing to bet their ladies' roster against their own lazy, cheap hiring practices. The FWA was at a standstill, the ladies refused to work while Matt was needed to take the hits as their newest jobber. Matt countered their offer, demanding to be paid for his additional work as he was doing double duty and did so for free. If he was going to perform as "Ara?a" then he had to be paid for it as one of the ladies since they were treating her like one. The ladies did as Matt suspected and rallied around him, with the two elder ladies refusing to work any more nights until Matt was given his equal pay for equal work. The guys on the roster stood with Matt, with their beloved champ pointing out how Matt was moving more merchandise for any other wrestler by wearing their t-shirts in the ring and using them as part of the act. Matt was worth a fortune to all of them, to lose him would hurt all of them financially. Matt was handed an additional contract, this one for his female wrestling. It was strict, he could never tell anyone who he really was whenever he was acting as "Ara?a" and had to keep separate from the ladies at all times due to potential legal issues. The ladies were happy to have him aboard, with the few who were on the fence only being so because they hadn't worked with Matt before. At home, Betty was upset at him working more matches but felt bad that it was an attempt by the FWA to try to get rid of ladies to save costs. She asked if Taylor was going to be the one performing, which was a revelation to Matt but might work for him outside the ring. Taylor exited their bedroom and was all smiles as she kissed Betty deeply for the idea, happy to be a part of Matt's life even if in secret. The next day, Matt commissioned a special singlet for his "Ara?a" character. He purposely chose pink, purple, red, and black for his colors as they were the opposite of his own blue, gold, and white singlet that he wore in his male persona. It was a good look and when it was finished later in the day he had fun showing it off to Betty while Vinny and Davis laughed at their father's flashy outfit. The ladies loved the look, and coupled with a mask of similar colors it looked liked the lady inside was a force to deal with. Matt added padding and false breasts to make himself look more feminine then also changed his movements and modulated his voice so you couldn't recognize him. He had to come up with a female name for himself that kept Taylor from being known, choosing "Dawn Rae" as his new fake name with only the owner of FWA knowing the truth. Matt had the first matches of the night, with his masked character being popular among fans allowing him to warm up the crowds for the "real" entertainment to come. He didn't take offense to being all but shoved out of the limelight and any championship pursuits, it was working for him and he was now making a solid $800 a night for three nights a week of work. After two more men's matches "Ara?a" made her full debut and had the place going crazy over her fast style and intimidating look. She didn't say anything before the match, Matt wasn't confident yet that he could perform as her on the mic so left it up to the ladies to trash her which only built up "Ara?a" as a face character. "Ara?a" lost her match, but had the crowd going wild throughout it. The momentum carried over to the other ladies and men as their matches benefited from the hot crowd. During breaks in the action, there were dozens of requests for "Ara?a" t-shirts with the crowd being disappointed by the lack of them. Matt stuck around in character as "Dawn Rae" the face behind "Ara?a" and talked with the ladies at length about why he was doing what he was doing. Matt didn't hold back, it was all for them and he had a great time performing with them. It wasn't about him, he genuinely liked performing with them in the ring and their energy was feeding the other matches as they could clearly see. Dawn was asked about creating merchandise, with Dawn reluctantly agreeing but splitting the profits with the ladies as she was trying to stay anonymous. It was a bump in their pay for the ladies as well as for Dawn but it was just adding on top for the Simpson family as money wasn't an issue. Betty earned a tidy salary at the hospital while Matt was pulling in about $65,000 from wrestling with another $20,000 from his t-shirt sales, he made double what he should have made but it was coupled with his medical doctor status with him being used to treat injuries during the events. He knew he was making more than others in the promotion, but he had what they didn't have- years of experience out of the ring working with top names and who was doing what others couldn't do in that he was an actual draw. Each of his promotions doubled their take from shows within weeks after he was added to their roster, word of mouth and growing popularity were big in the indies making him a hot commodity that couldn't be ignored. He was worth the price, especially as he was helping others by wearing their shirts in the ring showing that he supported them making them more money on the side. The "Ara?a" shirt was simple but drew your attention. It was aimed at women and girls but it was also something that might be worn by a guy since it was black with the image of "Ara?a" on it mid-flip. It was tough to choose the right image of "Ara?a" but a suggestion from Vinny was perfect as it kept her face hidden while showing her high-flying style and why she was getting popular. Vinny was showing that he was his father's son in how he thought, but thankfully for the family, he acted like his mother and wasn't in the least bit interested in dressing as a girl which caused both to be happy for him. There were 1,000 shirts printed in various sizes with options for more to be sold, but Matt didn't think they'd sell so kept the option open but wasn't likely to exercise it just yet. They sold out of their 100 shirts as they had with them just in case the demand was there. The ladies ended up making a combined $800 between them for the shirt sales, giving them a nice $110 each doubling their take for the night. Matt was forced to add his own shirt to the mix, with him choosing to go with a simple image that was him putting the Muta Lock on one of his opponents while adding a funny "size knows no limits" which summed up Matt nicely. It was popular among kids and smaller teens, with Matt enjoying meeting the fans who wore the shirt and happily told them that he knew many guys who were like them and who grew out of their small size but even if you were small you could be somebody. It was classic Matt and was a strong reason why he was the most popular wrestler in the FWA with even their champion being dropped down to second place due to Matt's growing popularity. FWA was in a bind knowing that Matt was vital to them for multiple reasons finally gave in and gave him a title shot. Matt worked with his opponent and got a rough idea of what needed to be done and when then worked with one another on which moves needed to be dropped and what needed to be included. Matt had to alter his style to allow for the slower reactions but it was good enough to make a great match even if it wasn't what he would have liked to do. There was some concern as Matt was normally on well before "Ara?a" had her match, being the main event of the night meant that Matt had to be "Ara?a" before he became Matt forcing him to go easy on the ladies while having them do more to carry the match. It wasn't helped that the ladies were slow to improve making him have to sell for them while they looked worse for the wear. It was a struggle, but they made it look convincing and got a huge pop from the crowd even if it wasn't the best match. Matt entered the ring later and was greeted with a big cheer while his opponent was met by a rousing boo! from the fans. Being a heel meant he got the reaction he needed, Matt being the babyface meant he was supposed to make it look good which their contrasting reaction did. The crowd went nuts as it was announced as being for the FWA heavyweight championship, with Matt getting his name chanted by the fans as they showed their appreciation for the effort he put in to get there. The match was long and tough. Matt hit his turnbuckle moves but his opponent took the pounding that was being given. Matt hit his splashes and dives and drove the crowd wild as they hit the barriers and even tumbled over the barriers and into the crowd. Things went crazy when his opponent finally went down setting up Matt for his signature setup move, the frankensteiner from the top rope. He hit it and went right for his special finisher, the 450 corkscrew frog splash from the top turnbuckle right onto his opponent's chest, pinning him for the win. It was all over, Matt won the FWA heavyweight championship and had fans going wild while the other wrestlers came out to support him and show their appreciation. Matt wasn't expected to hold the title for long, but it was a great buzz that sold-out shows around the state making others take notice as he was going to be a hot item soon if he chose to be. The money wasn't a draw for him, but the chance of getting his legitimate shot at the NEW then the GCW was. Matt was the champion, and through him, the FWA made a huge profit. In his next 12 shows, they sold out each show and needed to add more seating just to accommodate the additional demand for tickets. It went against all logic, but Matt the champion was so over that the company couldn't keep him down. The real problem lay in how to keep him and "Ara?a" going before they had to retire the "Ara?a" act. "Ara?a" was tough to keep from overpowering the FWA women's division, hindering the ladies' efforts at improving and gaining a following. She was popular and there were calls for her to get a shot at the championship. Matt couldn't serve as both, so he had to find a way of making "Ara?a" her own person while moving away from her as a whole. He thought it over and smirked. It was cheaper for the FWA to hire a new woman and have her take on the role of "Ara?a" than to continue to pay Matt to do both roles. He had seen it done before with many characters across other promotions when one of the masked characters needed to be let go due to issues with drugs or backstage behavior, it was a matter of making the character into something more than just one person. FWA was against the idea outright but they couldn't let "Ara?a" just disappear and couldn't make Matt be her without harming themselves. Matt put on his "Dawn Rae" identity and worked with potential recruits and found the perfect high flier who could do the same moves that he was using as "Ara?a" while evolving the character to fit her need. She was young, but she was able to make her mark if given the proper support from the women. The two worked in off days at, "Dawn's" home in his basement training ring while the young kids eagerly watched their new "aunt" play with the new lady, cheering them and laughing as they looked hurt but got right back up to do the same moves again and again. The new Ara?a took a few weeks to get ready but when she was "Dawn" had a contract drawn up that allowed the girl to use Ara?a while in the FWA and beyond but had to pay "Dawn" 10% for licensing of the "Ara?a" character. It was a small amount, but given how popular she had made Ara?a it was a small price to pay. She was smart enough to see a golden ticket and would happily work with "Dawn" to finalize the deal but hoped that "Dawn" didn't want to invoke the clause that killed the contract if the girl did something to make the character look bad outside of the ring like get arrested. The boys enjoyed their time with "Aunt Dawn" while keeping quiet about "Dawn" really being Matt. The new girl didn't know about Matt nor did she need to know, the contract was paid to Matt's account on behalf of "Dawn" which he created legally as a separate character to cover the FWA just in case someone looked into "Ara?a" in the hopes of poaching her for their promotion. Nobody bothered and if they did they wouldn't find anything except a copyright owned by a company that was owned by Matt but in Betty's, his mother's, and mother-in-law's names. The subterfuge was a lesson learned from Betty's sister-in-law Lillian. She had the idea of keeping the secret and as Betty had no reason to deal with anyone in the wrestling world she didn't have to say a thing to anyone. They couldn't threaten her or else Matt would have their heads, he had enough clout in the wrestling world to actually destroy careers if he chose to but was kind enough to not do so. Matt made his final appearance as "Ara?a" just before the FWA's biggest show of the year, their annual "Florida Extravaganza" held in Daytona Beach during the annual Spring Break. Matt was expected to lose his title that night but plans changed as "Ara?a" was set for a title match that she would lose, get "injured" in a kayfabe attack, then retire in favor of the new girl. He was being allowed to retain his title now that he didn't need to do double duty, with the FWA seeing him as a moneymaker and tried to keep their crowd going wild as his popularity skyrocketed to new heights. His match as "Ara?a" was brutal as the women's champion played an unhinged, deranged maniac who would brutalize her opponents and make them pay for "daring" to go after her title. She was never out of character either, in the locker room she was a terrible person and one of the few who didn't benefit from the "Ara?a" t-shirt sales as she refused to share anything with anyone. She would make "Ara?a" pay dearly and loved the idea of trying to harm her, which put Matt on edge as she might do just that. Their match lasted 20 minutes and involved chairs, tables, and a lot of hits to the back. Matt was able to brace himself for the assault and sold everything, getting cheers and cries from fans as "Ara?a" looked like she was hurt badly. It was tough, but he took the loss without getting any serious damage to him. After the match, his opponent went after him and made it look like she had severely injured his knees, back, and ankles. This would allow them to give "Ara?a" time off and make the seamless transition from Matt to the new girl. Since nobody outside of the locker room knew what "Ara?a" looked like under her mask and she had her hair in a bun under the mask it worked well for them. Matt dressed as "Dawn" briefly and handed off the mask to the new girl, telling her warmly, "She's all yours. Make me proud and make her your own. As long as you honor her, she's your character." The girl quickly dressed as "Ara?a" and made it look like she was being hauled away in an ambulance, while Matt addressed the ladies by telling them warmly, "It was fun, but I can't pull double-duty any longer. She's as good as any of you and will earn her spot. I'll still be around, but I'm just one of the guys from now on. It's tough putting on an act in front of my kids, I don't want them to get the wrong idea that it's OK to hit women just because their father does." Matt changed and left, donning his mask and championship belt then letting down his hair from his bun, then walking out to a standing ovation as the champion of FWA. His match was unspectacular, with his opponent selling all of their moves while looking powerful yet was overmatched due to his apparent ego issues. They had the crowd going wild, with Matt's moves being a great counter to his opponent's powerful slams. Matt was hurting after the match, he had to take a while to gather his strength but thankfully he wasn't seriously hurt. Betty had to hold off trying to help him, as much as she loved him her doctor mind was too much at times to keep at bay. The kids were thrilled, they loved seeing their daddy do those jumps and flips and spins and making the big, bad man lose. Vinny was his father's son, he loved watching the sport while Davis was more like his mother and was really only interested in coloring or playing with his toys. Davis was slowly learning that his daddy was different than other daddies but was happy that Matt was around and showed him a lot of love. Matt was all smiles and kissed the kids, with Vinny happily asking if he was going to be home all week or if he was going away in two days again. Matt had the week off, they were only working that night because it was their biggest show of the year and brought in a lot of money for everyone. Matt made a killing selling his t-shirts, both of him and of, "Ara?a." The ladies were happy, their sales were strong and "Ara?a" netted them double their take. The drive home was in silence as the kids fell asleep immediately. Betty was thinking deeply while Matt was trying hard to relax. She looked away in shame then asked, "When will you start trying to go for the NEW? You are good enough and have a strong following, surely you can work with them now." She had a point, but there hadn't been any feelers sent out about him. Other promotions were trying to get him to join them, but none were connected to the NEW in any way and were trying to capitalize on his local fame and box office drawing power. He shook his head in shame, telling her angrily, "King Reign is at it again. He knows I'm rising fast down here and won't let go of his obsession with trying to destroy me. I'll bet my bottom dollar that he has paid off the scouts to keep them from looking at me, it has to be the new guys as the older ones know me too well." Betty had to agree with him there, it was classic King Reigns. He was known to do that to many of the upcoming talent that he didn't want or who would challenge his authority as head of the GCW. Matt knew of several who gave up trying to go to the NEW because of King, he had even lost to several who had offers rescinded due to their having wrestled Matt in FWA, GWF, and SWL and who held a strong grudge against him for what King had done to their careers. Matt spent the week dressed as Taylor. Davis looked at her funny but still hugged her, kissing her cheek to show that he was fine with her. He looked disappointed though, like he wanted to be around Matt and not the lady was with him now. Taylor ran, swam, lifted, and was enjoying her free time. She got surprise visits from her parents and by her in-laws the Blacks. Hank Black's kids, Jerome and the young Ginny, were all over their "aunt" and tried to keep her attention while Davis and Vinny enjoyed their aunt and uncle's rare attention. Jerome and Ginny didn't ask about "Aunt Taylor," while Davis whispered something to Hank that got him to shake his head in disappointment to which Taylor looked away in shame. Hank demanded to speak with Taylor in private, which prompted Jerome to giggle about Taylor being in trouble with his daddy. Lillian led the kids away while his parents stayed put, not wanting Hank to go overboard with his criticism. He wasn't happy with Matt taking a job from a lady, especially as he was doing so for his own sake. Taylor sat down and immediately was asked, "Why did you do it? Why would you do that to yourself? Of all of the irresponsible, selfish things that you could do wrestling as female is the worst!" Taylor waited for him to calm down, then countered, "They were going to cut someone. I was stuck waiting around for two hours after my match so it was felt that I could pull off being one of them so the ladies didn't lose someone. It worked, they kept all of them and built up the others. It wasn't my fault that I grew to be popular especially as the top lady and man. Few know I was, "Ara?a," only the ladies and the management knew. None of the fans and certainly none of the guys knew." Hank looked disgusted, Taylor grabbed a picture of "Ara?a" and showed him. He angrily asked, "Who is that wearing that bodysuit, singlet, and mask? Who?" Hank looked at the picture closely and couldn't see any distinguishing marks. He looked up at Taylor and asked who it was under the mask, getting an upset, "It was me. It was Matt dressed as 'Dawn Rae' but it was me inside. The ladies don't know Taylor Thomas, they only know that the woman inside the mask was called 'Dawn'. Hell, not even my successor knows who I really am. The boys were with me when we practiced but they look like any other kid. She thinks that the boys are my nephews, they know to call me 'auntie' when in mixed company. I trust them. Davis told you because he knows that you are his uncle and needed to know, he accepts me as being his aunt and father so it's no issue." Jerry and Carey Black were silent while Wally and Nancy Simpson were trying hard to not to say what they wanted to say to Hank about him being out of line. Hank was hotheaded about keeping the kids safe and couldn't bare them getting hurt because of something the adults had done. He was fiercely protective of his children and extended that to his nephews even if he rarely saw them anymore. Taylor got up to check on the kids while Hank accepted his admonishment from his parents. Carey was the first to vocalize, telling him firmly, "Matt wouldn't have done what he did unless he was sure that it was going to work out for the better. You know him, you know your sister would never let any harm come to her children. Matt may be a closeted transgender woman, but he isn't flaunting his chances to dress as a woman. This was desperation, this was trying to protect friends, this was trying to be a man when others were being boys. So stop acting like a petulant child and accept that your friend was trying to be selfless and doing the noble thing for coworkers. He knows what he is doing and bowed out at the right time and helped another person along the way. He is doing this for the best." Hank hated being wrong, but Jerry put his hand on his shoulder and reassured him, "You care about your brother-in-law more than anyone will ever know. He loves you, son. Matt will always be your friend. He cares about all of you, but his heart extends to others he considers friends. He did it for those ladies, he didn't do it because he wanted to be a woman in the open. He took precautions, he has it put into his contract that any leak of his identity would have severe financial consequences. He owns the character and if the lady performing as 'Ara?a' gets out of line she loses the right to perform as her." Hank looked down in shame, Taylor reentered and hugged him. Hank could never be upset at Taylor for long, he loved her too much to not forgive her for what he was upset about. He whispered to Taylor, "I just hope this works out. I don't trust anyone about you, I don't want you hurt." The extended family gathered together once Betty and Hank's younger brother Richard was dropped off by his friends. Richard rolled his eyes as he looked at his brother-in-law, complaining that he was too good for FWA and needed to move up to the big-time so he could tout knowing him. He complained that he couldn't tell anyone about "Ara?a" as it was too embarrassing, which was his way of telling his brother-in-law and siblings that Matt's secret was safe with him. Richard was his sister's brother and was proud of Matt, although he was happily taking after his father in finding more fun in designing and destroying things than in physical sports. The family development firm was in good hands with him, there was plenty of work to do and a lot of places to renovate. He was envious of his sister doing menial work as a doctor but happy to be his own person like her. Taylor being present never phased Richard, he had grown up around her and loved her as a sister as much as he loved Matt as a brother. Being bigger than Matt made a lot of issues at school but he was happy to defend his brother-in-law and dared anyone to show that they were better than Matt in either of the sports Matt had excelled in, especially wrestling. None could do so, leaving the larger, smarter, more connected Richard alone while secretly being jealous of him and his family. Hank, Lillian, Jerome, and Ginny left before the others, with Lillian knowing that they were going to plot Matt's future while keeping Hank from knowing. She didn't like that he was being kept out of the line of fire, but it was better for his career to stay ignorant so he could be unbiased in his reporting. She was happy to ensure that Matt's business interests were in order, especially the t-shirt sales that he was steadily growing as his reputation for amazing matches spread. Once the foursome left, the family got down to business and talked about Matt's next move. Taylor was trying to keep out of things but her heart was set on the NEW and GCW, the family didn't need to ask it as all of them could see based on her reaction to their back and forth debating. When she finally spoke, she sighed and explained, "I'll give it six months. If they aren't coming for me I'll have to move on to either Impact of Honor, Japan, or Mexico. Those are a quick three week gigs every three to four months so I won't miss out on anything here, but it's still a lot of time away from the family. Mexico will be more grueling but Impossible has family and friends down there who will not hesitate to help me out. I have my own gimmick waiting for me as well, so I'd have a jump down there others don't have." The others looked at her disappointment but she angrily shot back, "Until King Reign is fired, dies, or someone takes control of the talent from him I'm just treading water. I have a fallback career, I don't have to do this, but I want to. He's got a stranglehold on the GCW and no amount of Stacy or Vince Turner backing me will move him. He will make my life miserable, just because he can. He's already started to take it out on anyone who wrestles me, too many have suffered at his hands because of me. I'll move on to where he can't influence people, he doesn't care about Impact of Honor or Mexico or Japan, just ask Impossible and his family. I'll have to do it on my own and get enough of a reputation to force GCW to sign me or lose out on the hottest talent in the world. Either way, I have to try." Richard was bold enough and told him, "Do it. You can do all three and still have plenty of time to enjoy time with Betty, Vinny, and Davis. Impact of Honor is based out of Orlando so you would be foolish to not try to hook up with them if they are interested. So what if the pay isn't as big as GCW? You can still make a killing doing other things and still work for them- like Impossible and others do!" Betty added, "You'd be home every night and they would know already your ability as a producer. They are no fools, you are a hot commodity and if King is fooling around and purposely hurting NEW just to keep you away then he will have to answer to Vince. Don't let King win, Vince will eventually step in. Have some faith in Vince, he'll do what's right when the time comes." Taylor agreed, giving it one year. If it didn't work out for him, he was going to seek a job elsewhere. He wasn't holding out much hope, King was just too much of a pest to not interfere with his life again. The group left, with Richard hugging and kissing his sister-in-law. He was mature about her dressing as a woman, it was just natural and he was used to transgender people thanks to knowing a couple in high school. Taylor might have been brutalized if she came out back then, but times had changed since then and Mr. Erickson, the longtime principal, had made it so people with differences were not treated badly. The family relaxed, Davis fell asleep in Taylor's lap while Vinny asked Betty, "When will daddy become our other mommy? Daddy is always happier as mommy. He needs to be our other mommy." She couldn't answer that question, it was an honest question from the mouth of the most honest child you could encounter and showed how much the little boy loved Matt/Taylor. Vinny was put to bed, but first Betty explained to him, "Your daddy loves the two of you deeply. I know you want him happy, but he has a lot to do in his life before he can become your second mommy. He can't just drop everything to become a woman, his desire to be a wrestler is just too strong. It's like you and chocolate, you get so obsessive over it that you do anything to get it. He needs to do this, one day he will become a woman but that won't be for several years." Vinny kissed her and went to sleep, satisfied that his mother had told him the truth. Taylor put Davis to bed and listened to Betty, she knew Taylor's inner thoughts and vocalized just what would be said to the little boy. Taylor felt for him, but he was right about Matt needing to be a wrestler and fighting his true self no matter how strong the desire was to be Taylor in full. The week flew by, Taylor spent the majority of it with the kids and gave them a chance to enjoy their time with their "Aunt" while their mother worked or went shopping. Davis refused to leave Taylor's sight and Vinny kept her busy by doing his best to do every possible activity in the house that required a parent's help. The little boy didn't say it directly but he was showing how much he cared about Taylor. When the week ended Taylor left and Matt returned, much to Vinny's and Davis' disappointment. Matt had to figure out where to go with his character while mulling over his future without the FWA getting wind of his future plans. They could easily bury him and muddy the waters with the talent scouts the same way that King had done with the NEW scouts. He was unable to find good storylines as he had faced everyone currently on the roster and none of the guys had any chance of getting beyond the FWA, except as jobbers and one-offs for the IoH or GCW. Matt was their best talent and they knew it and if they lost him they would start to slide downhill and lose their precarious fanbase. Matt's problem though was he was going to cost them too much to retain his services, making him too expensive to feature costing them no matter what. The writing was on the wall, they had to let Matt move on to greener pastures while giving Matt a leg-up in the hopes that he could send talent their way. He was going to do that anyway, they deserved to be in a better position than they were before he got there even if they were going to take a hit when he left. He had a couple of guys lined up down in the SWL and GWF, guys who needed the chance but weren't getting it due to the SWL and GWF's cheapskate ownership. The FWA and Matt came to an agreement allowing Matt to leave while he retained the rights to his name and image while allowing the FWA to use his previous matches in DVDs and online media. He came away with a tidy buy-out while ensuring that they adhered to his agreement with the new Ara?a and didn't try to screw her out of money or hone in on her merchandise deal. They knew that it would harm the other ladies, meaning harming her hurt the company on multiple levels. By the time of the buyout, word had spread of him possibly leaving meaning Matt had already been contacted by IoH and several Mexican and Japanese wrestling companies in the hopes of snagging him. IoH was the best option for him, especially as they were less than an hour away from his home and were watched by a million fans a week. The company was a national company with a few large shows internationally, but who would have a lot of work for him as he built his standing among the wrestlers of the company while working with him to build himself up for his inevitable NEW and GCW run. Matt was finally asked to come to their "institute" and try-out for a possible spot with them. He gave them the details and laughed as it was a 10-minute walk from home, making them have to hide their smirks as he could end up being one of their most serviceable wrestlers simply because they didn't have to pay for his travel and hotel expenses. He knew that it was a strong plus, but they still had to meet up. Matt was true to his word and showed up at their facility 10 minutes later, but explaining that he had to take his kids due to not being able to get a sitter due to the suddenness. Davis and Vinny were quiet and listened to what the adults were saying, knowing that Matt was doing something important. The lack of attention-seeking by the kids and Matt's ability to keep them in line impressed the IoH immediately. Matt read over the contract, seeing several things that he didn't like that needed changing. He was no fool and knew what to look for and stated firmly, "I'm going to control my character. I'm no rube and am not new to the industry. If you did your homework about me you'd know my family has strong ties to the GCW and NEW dating back four decades. Few have been with the company longer, with my parents being the backbone of the backstage crew for years." He wasn't concerned about the salary but insisted on having his own doctor diagnose injuries as well as having the opportunity to work outside shows to supplement his income, allowing him to get around to the various smaller events to drum up support for friends as others did. He had the concessions that he wanted, including having his hotel stipend go towards paying health insurance since he didn't need it. He signed the deal and went outside to do a dog and pony show for the social media pages as well as dirtsheets allowing those who were outside of Florida to meet the newest IoH wrestler: Matt Simpson. Matt was surprised to see Hank there, with Hank immediately rushing over to ask what was going on and why Vinny and Davis were there. Matt smirked and told him, "I signed with IoH to be their newest wrestler. They wanted to talk right away and had a contract ready and Betty was out working. Mom is busy with Richard and dad is in the middle of an important meeting so I had to take them with me." The duo grinned and hugged their uncle, causing him to back down from Matt. The two were sat next to Hank while the dog and pony show got underway, with Matt wearing his trademark mask that he kept in the kids' bag. He was doing the signing in-character, he figured it was best to take it with him. Hank shook his head at seeing the mask but understood why Matt was wearing it. The boys were all smiles as they saw their father dressed in a suit and wearing the mask, it meant that their father was in a good mood since it was wrestling-related and it was his favorite thing in the world. Matt never made mention of his family nor his brother-in-law being present and went through the motions as they had a quickie photo shoot and enjoyed a few obligatory questions before wrapping up the event. Hank had the boys while Matt endured a few quick interviews, not needing to get any information from anyone as he knew what was going on and what he didn't know he would get from Matt directly. He had to hold off other reporters and the dirtsheets who were looking for a scoop, telling anyone who asked that the kids were his nephews and were there with him. Matt finally left the room, with the boys going with Hank to his car while he awaited Matt's exit from the facility after the other reporters left. Matt had to explain to the IoH officials just who Hank was and his relationship to him, which was why the boys weren't with him after the event. They saw what he was doing and kept his privacy, but knew that he was going to have to keep Hank at bay lest he unintentionally reveals secret plans. Matt shook his head and explained to them, "Speak with Impossible, he'll vouch for me and tell you exactly the kind of wrestler you got and what I will end up doing for you when the time comes." He walked out and drove the boys home, while Hank filed his story and explained to his boss that it had to be a "staff" article despite him writing it in full. The name was noticed, which Hank added, "The boys were with him, I got wrangled into babysitting them while he waited for his opening to leave with his mask off. I have to hide my connections, too many will try to take advantage of me to get to him." At home, the boys were told, "I got a job locally, daddy will be home each night! The nights that I do have to work you can have fun with mommy. It's what everyone wanted, I'm going to be home a lot and we can do more stuff together. And I'll even drop you off at school and daycare, so you can now tell the others that your daddy is famous even if I'm not that famous yet." The boys were happy, with Vinny kissing him then asking, "Can you be Aunt Taylor more? You love her and mommy said you need to be her. Can she come out more?" It was tough to deny his son's pleading looks, so he agreed to be her at home but only when they were all alone as he didn't want anyone to know. Vinny was happier seeing Taylor come out, while Davis was bouncing around the house with joy as Taylor played with them until Betty got home. The kids had big smiles while they said, "Aunt Taylor is coming by a lot more now." Betty shook her head then smiled, it was the best news she could hear. Matt cooked dinner then told her what she had missed during her shift at the hospital, with Betty snickering at Hank getting stuck with the boys so Matt could keep himself secret from the dirtsheets. The local reporters knew him already so it wasn't a big deal, but the dirtsheets hated not knowing what he looked like under the mask. He was just glad that nobody had connected him to Ara?a and her run, one that had started just the day before and with great fanfare from the fans. Few noticed that there was a difference, those that did chalked it up to the originator moving on to another company. It happened a lot, it was tough to keep the talent as all were focused on the big companies and the big paychecks. Matt's paycheck doubled, with the likelihood that it'd double again with a renegotiation. It was common for IoH, they started you low unless you were a GCW castoff. Matt was on par with other newbies. Matt spent two weeks preparing with the IoH crew and had to work with them to refine his character to where he wanted it and where it would fit with them. The TV tapings were met with a lot of arguing between Matt and the producer for his segments, with Matt knowing more about what he was doing than the producer and called his bluff about getting him fired before his first match. He wasn't going to let some has-been hack get the better of him, the man was an old friend of King and was doing King's bidding by proxy by trying to do whatever it took to get Matt fired before he could appear on TV. Matt talked with the executive producers, the ownership, then his colleagues and his ideas were miles ahead of the fluff that the producer wanted Matt to do. The fact that he wouldn't let Matt showcase his jumps and turnbuckle moves was a joke to them, Matt's moveset was what fans wanted to see and was what they hired him to do in the first place. He won out, his ideas were used and he went so far as to do the producing job for all six of his matches taped that day. His actual matches were fast-paced, yet short. He hit the right moves and caught his opponents in a variety of tough situations as he worked through their near-falls and performed high-flying moves that they couldn't counter. When two went for chairs and tables the crowd went wild, Matt was showing the company just why he was a wise investment just from the reaction of the crowds to him each match. He returned home with a big smile on his face and his kids hugging him. Betty asked if he had fun, but it was a rhetorical question as Matt's big smile showed that he did. He loved the job and having made his impact in just a few hours of work gave him a sense of pride in his job. Taylor confessed to Betty just what happened that day, leading Betty to sooth her bruises and gave her kisses to soothe her tired muscles. The two went to bed with smiles on their faces, waking up to the other in their arms and the kids jumping into their bed seeing attention. Taylor was never happier, she was feeling amazing and loved that she was finally on her way up in the wrestling world. Matt headed into work, first dropping the kids off with their grandparents so they could enjoy some quality time with them. He got there first and worked with his newly assigned producer to craft match after match that fit his vision while continuing the storyline of the new guy who was making the heels look bad by not being intimidated by their size and strength while outmaneuvering them in every way. It fit the mold for heel vs. face while also giving him a character who fans could cheer for. His first loss was that day, with Matt taking a chair to the back from his opponent's valet while he went for the pin. He made it look good while ensuring that she earned her own heat from the fans. She was a face he was used to, given that she was one of the GCW castoffs that King refused to push due to her refusing to work with certain wrestlers who were known to be rough with their valets and managers. Mickayla Jace embraced Matt in the locker room then asked him where the kids were while trying to bridge his past without others learning his secret. He just smiled and admitted, "With their grandparents. It's tough to get them away from the pool but they love seeing the four of them. I think their aunt is going to bring over their cousins later, so it'll be the 11 of us for dinner once Betty gets off work." She asked about his brothers-in-law as it should be 13, getting a happy, "Richard is with his girlfriend at school decorating for the school dance while Hank will be in the office writing his article on the change in the school system that was proposed by the city council. He can't stop himself when he is on a roll, he spent hours researching his article and is proud of what he has found out. He's hoping that it'll lead to a column, but I'm not holding out hope. The paper tends to only give those to sycophants which he is not. I give him another year before he moves on to a better job with the AP or a larger paper." He turned things around and asked her if she was staying in a hotel, getting a nod to which he happily told her, "Save the money, stay with me next time." She tried to refuse, but he insisted especially as the kids were brought up and she had a soft spot for little ones especially after she had her own son. Her husband was traveling the country with his smaller promotion while their son stayed with his grandparents in Texas, she was all alone and was spending a chunk of her paycheck on a hotel. Matt couldn't let her do that anymore, she was family to him even if she wasn't blood. She was like an aunt and one of the few wrestlers whom he could talk to about Taylor without feeling ridiculed. Mickayla was invited to join the Black/Simpson families for dinner, with Matt insisting that she enjoy a night away from the hotel gym especially as it could be worthwhile for her emotionally. Matt the doctor was speaking, something that Mickayla couldn't deny as he was trying to help her without seeming to help her. It was better than just doing nothing, and she did enjoy the companionship he provided. The Simpsons were fine with her coming by, but the Blacks thought Richard might get a little too into her thanks to Michayla's large bust and Amazon features. Matt had to stifle a laugh, she was a beautiful woman and Richard could be girl-crazy at times but he would be held in line due to knowing that Matt had invited her over. He would give her ogling looks, but it was normal teenage behavior. The duo being close led to questions which led to whispers about Matt's past in the GCW and NEW. The whispers grew to searches and calls to friends who might know and led to the truth finally being revealed to the IoH world: Matt was the biggest hidden gem in the wrestling world, a legitimate child prodigy who knew the business inside and out. Mickayla knowing him was confirmed as a picture from years before was found on her social media page and showed Matt talking with her while the ladies of the GCW were preparing in the background. He was jokingly called "the youngest producer" which was only added to the fire as confirmations from those who knew Matt and worked with him led to more talk about all of the ideas that he had created and the champions that he had helped create, with Impossible being the biggest. Impossible was one of the guys that the IoH held in high regard and who only had to make sporadic appearances but who had a profound impact on the IoH world, having him work with Matt might be what sends his career over beyond anyone's hopes and dreams as Matt was just so similar to him giving fans a match to love. Impossible wasn't due in for several weeks, allowing them to start building Matt properly as a solid worker who had potential to be a champion. He would have to do a lot of matches before then, but it was worth it in their eyes as Matt vs. Impossible would be the highlight of the upcoming pay per view event. Matt wasn't the first newbie to get that kind of push, but he was going to be the first to get it because he was more experienced than any other rookie before. At Simpson home, Matt and Mickayla were greeted warmly with Davis and Vinny putting on their best "I'm a cute little kid" act. The two were unaware that it wouldn't work on someone who had a young son at home, but to them, it was worth the effort. Mickayla had to stifle a laugh as she looked at Matt shaking his head in shame at their antics while she sported a smile at recalling him doing the same. Mickayla happily told them, "Just like their daddy. I remember you doing the same when we watched you backstage. Although, I think it was because you wanted to play dress-up with us." Matt blushed while his father Wally looked away in shame. His mother Nancy smirked while Vinny gave a soft, "He was mommy Taylor then?" Mikayla gave Matt a look of surprise, to which he told her, "They know her, they like it when I'm her. They like an aunt who spoils them more than a strict dad." Mickayla laughed hard at that, telling him, "You keep fighting it, but you aren't fooling any of us. We know the truth, we loved you no matter what. You are a great woman, hell you are more feminine than a lot of us. Stacy is holding out hope that you will run the women's division as executive producer in the future, not even King Reign will stop her if she has her mind set on things. For your own sake, don't push this off until too late. It's not worth losing yourself and none of us could live with ourselves if you ever felt bad enough to harm yourself because of your feelings." The two talked for an hour while the kids gave the duo their undivided attention with Vinny happily being close to Mickayla's side and enjoying hugs before tiring to seek out his grandparents next door. He returned with the Blacks and the shocked Richard, who offered a meek, "Hello," before moving off to the pool to swim until his reaction died down. Jerry shook his head in disappointment while Carey gave a happy, "He needed a cold shower after necking with his girlfriend after school, I guess a cold swim will be just as good for him." Mickayla laughed hard as she never noticed his obvious shock and discomfort, but loved that she could still do that to a boy at her stage in her career. The six talked until Betty came and got her to give no notice of the visiting Mickayla as she was too hungry and tired to offer proper greetings. Mickayla understood, it was a tough job that left little time to eat when things were hectic. After dinner, Matt's phone rang which caught him by surprise. Looking at the number he sighed and answered it, knowing that whatever was going to happen would make or break his career. The IoH head of production wouldn't call him unless it was important and with only two days into his start he had to be ready for disappointment and his career dreams being extinguished even if he tried his hardest. The call wasn't what he expected, in fact, it was a complete shock. He talked for an hour, gave several ideas of his own, then let the powers that be decide on what would happen with him but it was now beyond his control. He hung up and looked down in shock, with the others waiting for him to calm down enough to offer them an explanation. Matt finally calmed down and explained, "That was Dixie Sinclair. IoH found out about the work I did with the NEW and GCW and especially Impossible's character. They want me to face him at the next pay per view in the main event. The original match had to be scrapped when his opponent was arrested for drug violations and now has visa issues. Nobody matches up with him nor can anything be put together into a convincing enough storyline. They want me to play it off as being the next coming of Impossible. I'm going to main event Honor Bound next month!" The family celebrated, with Richard reluctantly showering and changing to look more "presentable" to the visiting Mickayla. He couldn't help but feel a reaction sitting near her, but kept his hormones at bay as the family talked about the upcoming plans. Richard was in awe of the whole situation, it was going to be something that he could gloat about to his friends especially if Matt beat Impossible. The kids were happy to get Mickayla's attention, prompting Nancy to ask about her own son. Mickayla blushed and confessed that he stayed with his grandparents whenever she had to be in town to film her segments and participate in the pay-per-view events. Nancy looked over at the Blacks who knew what she was thinking and asked how old the little one was. Mickayla happily told them, "He's 12. He's homeschooled due to our schedules and problems with the kids' families trying to use us to get things they want like merchandise and tickets. He's a good kid but it's tough to take him on the road. He tried private school but the kids teased him too much and bullied him relentlessly whenever I was on TV." The disappointment in her voice belied her own feeling that she made a mistake with how she was raising her son. Carey shook her head and told Nancy, "You don't have to twist my arm. He needs his mother and if it helps him to improve socially by being around kids who are used to wrestlers then it'll help him in the long run. Besides, Jerome is always complaining about being bored when I watch him." Nancy smirked at Mickayla and explained, "Her grandson is the same age and has the same issues. His father is a reporter and his mother is an executive with a small sales company so he is frequently with his grandparents. He's used to Matt and spent many weekends at the FWA, GWL, and SWL events so he got to meet a lot of wrestlers. He's protective of Matt, especially when others badmouth him." Nancy asked if he was going to have an issue with Taylor, to which Mickayla snorted and confessed, "We have had issues with him dressing as a girl. He's not transgender, but he does like to act like a drag queen. He doesn't do it often, it was more curiosity than anything. He saw an act on TV and wanted to act like her, he does a good imitation of her so it's probably just bored acting." All eyes turned to Matt who added, "The Divinity Show. She's over the top but does it for the cameras. She is actually played by a good actor, it's a character she plays as part of a roster of characters. I didn't like her style, I prefer slapstick over innuendos and double entendres." Mickayla snorted and added, "He is just starting to realize what some of the jokes mean and blushes at the jokes. I guess it's part of being a boy at that age." Wally and Jerry nodded, while Matt looked away in shame as Nancy was about to add, "Matt certainly did, if you remember him getting the ladies to bat him in the head with feather boas when he made one of those jokes." Matt went a deep shade of red as the Blacks and Betty looked over at him in shock. He tried to make an excuse while Mickayla added, "He ran off scared after that. I guess he didn't hear us all laughing at the joke after he left, it was pretty funny and the last kind of joke we'd expect from him." The meal broke with the kids kissing Mickayla goodbye. Richard nearly fainted when Mickayla kissed his cheek, Carey had to move him home while the others gave a small laugh at the teen's infatuation. He was his father's son, Jerry couldn't help but do the same at times when around beautiful ladies. Mickayla called her parents and told them what was going to happen and got their approval. Matt was given the once-over as they asked about his family, with Mickayla happily explaining how long she had known the Simpsons then adding that the Blacks were close friends and whose son and daughter was a fixture alongside Matt years before. That was all they needed to know, Matt was given the all clear. The two went to the tapings the next day with a sense of pride. Mickayla would get more time with her son while Matt would be on the road to bigger things. His match against Impossible might not be a title match, but it was going to be the biggest of his career thus far. Impossible was at the tapings, coming in from his native California on an evening flight. He worked with Matt and the executive producer to layout how Matt's path would follow then assembled the guys to make it work. Impossible vouched for Matt's abilities and smoothed over the bruised egos of the guy who had been the previous contender but whose storyline was scrapped thanks to the former opponent getting arrested and kept away from the US. Matt's first match was against a fast moving, yet low powered striker. His attacks looked like they did a lot of harm as he did multiple chops, suplexes, and kicks but Matt easily countered them as time wore on and the guy looked winded. Matt happily performed his Muta Lock out of nowhere and scored the victory, giving the crowd something to cheer about as Matt's theatrics were a hit. His next opponent was a big behemoth that used power to wear down opponents. Matt was easily able to get him to chase him, make mistake after mistake as he tried to pin Matt only to see him kick-out at "2" wearing him down while Matt bided his time, then hit several turnbuckle moves leading to Matt hitting his 450 corkscrew frog splash finisher. It was a tough one on Matt as the guy was slow and his holds weren't exact, botching Matt's moves and messing with his time. He was going nowhere in his career and at the rate he was botching moves he'd be gone in a year and back to the low indies again. Impossible made his presence known and did a backstage segment about Matt and his winning streak. Matt was hyped as being Impossible's new protege but was not as good as Impossible, setting Matt up to be the underdog trying to beat his master. It worked, as the crowd reacted wildly to the segment when it was shown on the screens inside the soundstage making Matt the new babyface on the rise. Matt's next opponents were a tag-team. It was a handicap match that saw Matt facing the two wrestlers at the same time with Matt having to beat them both in order to continue his run to the top. The duo was a pair of older wrestlers who had worked with Impossible for years and who knew how to react to Matt's moves, which was why they were chosen over other teams for Matt's first stipulation match- both for familiarity and for the safety of the other teams. The match was the toughest for Matt as he needed to be precise in his moves or else he could hurt both of the opponents. His turnbuckle moves were limited in time but he made them work as the two were purposely moving slower when he was climbing in order to sell the moves and get into proper position, timing the moves to coincide with a move that, "Dazed" the duo making their slowness seem to be due to Matt's attack. Matt hit his finisher perfectly and got a standing ovation as he beat the duo at the same time, keeping the storyline moving and giving fans a sense that Matt was worth cheering for. Matt's fifth match was a triple-threat match with the winner being given the shot to face Impossible at the next pay-per-view. Matt was expected to lose easily with the current push recipient getting the win, but fans were shocked as the favorite, Dangerously Handsome, was taken out of the action almost immediately by Matt and their other opponent, Timber Chop, allowing Matt to face one at a time. He played off of them, with the duo being two of the young guys that he had helped when they were in the NEW and who couldn't make their characters work despite months of tweaking. Matt made them look good as he took hits from kicks, suplexes, chops, and enduring countless slams into the barriers around the ring. Dangerously Handsome and Timber Chop finally went to one another allowing Matt a chance to rest and help the duo advance their own storyline and allowing Matt to try to find a way to win on his own. The duo set him up for several suicide dives as they started to wear down while he endured, with Matt getting them into the ring for the finale. Matt pulled off a surprise hurricanrana on one then performed his 450 corkscrew frog splash from the top rope onto the other pinning both to get the victory. Matt won the match and then just stared down Dangerously Handsome, with Impossible coming out to congratulate Matt then give Dangerously Handsome his own stare down to show he wasn't worthy of facing him. Dangerously Handsome tried to attack Timber Chop in anger only to see the two fight it out among themselves while Matt and Impossible stood towering over them, getting a standing ovation as their part in the tapings ended. Matt had to conduct backstage interviews to correspond with his matches, with Matt's mysterious new challenger persona working to his advantage as he gave few answers and let his mouth and eyes do the answering for him. His bit was that he barely spoke and when he did it was a gloomy grumble that was a lot of work but paid off as he couldn't be identified out of character away from the ring by fans. He still used his real name, but with several hundred, "Matt Simpson" names around the country only those who truly knew him knew what he looked like allowing Matt some sense of privacy. Matt considered things over and had a brilliant idea: use Mickayla as his manager so that he didn't have to speak at all and keep his aura of mystique going while protecting his privacy. She would still have matches of her own, but with the increased use of her she was able to get a bump in pay and with their chemistry, it was a naturally smooth mix as she did the speaking for him. It was mutually beneficial as the two were great with one another and as they knew each other so well it was seen as being the two in-character 24/7 despite the duo having a true friendship and respect for one another. The re-shoots were better than the originals, Mickayla found her way into the pay-per-view earning her another nice bump in pay which she happily decided to use for an RV so she didn't have to stay with Matt at his house. He still insisted that she park at his house, it at least saved her money on parking at parking lot. He was thinking about her as family which given how long he had known her, she was. Impossible and he watched the other matches that allowed for the storyline giving Matt his shot at the main event match and was pleased to see that it was a subtle change in how the matches were going to go initially. The outcome of one match shifted from a pinfall to a disqualification knocking both of the guys in the match out of contention allowing Matt to slip into the fold especially as they were put into a feud with each other giving them a spot on the pay-per-view. The feud was connected, that was going to be Matt's first feud but it slid down to the two and was a better feud as the two had a history with one another via tag team action involving a recently completed storyline that was able to be brought up again to further their history. Matt suspected that there would be more going on than just him vs. Impossible, with Impossible giving him a smirk which turned into a laugh as Matt realized what was going on without anyone saying it: he was facing Impossible not just in the main event, but in a title match! Impossible just grinned and told him, "It's the most logical thing to do for us as I'm already the #1 contender and you are being pushed as the new babyface. You know you are already going to lose in a tough match but it has to be more than just mentor vs. protege, it had to have a stipulation. Making it for the title gives it a bigger stake, it gives people something more to watch. This is me paying you back for what you did for me years ago, this is your big break. You will be back at the top, they can't keep you down for long." Matt hugged him, his uncle in all but name was giving him a gift and would be on his resume for all to see in years to come. It was history, Matt Simpson would be in the record books for all time. He was going to lose, but the fact that he was there in the first place was all that mattered. Matt had to smile as Impossible must have shot promos while he was busy the day before. Mickayla had done the promo work for him during her own segment allowing him to do a final shot that included the three together for the match announcement. It was like a dream for him now, a happy dream. The reshoots were quick, Mickayla worked her lines perfectly while Impossible happily told the world that it was different with Matt- it was personal. Matt and Impossible squared off and didn't say a word to one another, they didn't need to. Matt was brilliant in his reactions and showed he wasn't going to be intimidated by Impossible's experience nor his mind games, Mickayla vocalized it for all as Matt just stared Impossible down while trying hard to not show emotion. They were clear for the next month, they weren't needed so Mickayla left for home after giving Matt a big kiss and hug. Impossible went to Matt's house and caused Richard to stop dead in his tracks and give his brother-in-law a whining, "What's next, Vince Turner? Geeze, I swear you are trying to make me have a heart attack with the people you bring home!" Impossible laughed while Betty countered, "Just wait until this year's Wrestlecade, Vince AND Stacy will be demanding that Matt come by the stadium 'for old time's sake' to catch up with him." He glared at his sister while Impossible added, "His contract is up soon. If he doesn't have someone keeping an eye on him to sign him to NEW someone is going to be fired. Vince loves him, and Stacy is his godmother so neither will be happy that he isn't part of their family yet- he should have been a year ago!" The two took off their masks which caused Richard to get a glimpse that people would pay thousands of dollars to see- the true face of Impossible. He looked like any other person but had a bit of a boyish look to him that belied his late early 50s age. Matt told the teen, "Don't you have homework to do?" which caused him to rush off to finish what he was doing while Betty shook her head and complained about him weaseling a weekend at their house because his girlfriend was away. Matt smirked, then added, "More like he wanted to see Mickayla again" which Impossible added, "He must like seeing her two big reasons" causing Betty to groan and roll her eyes at the jokes. Impossible relaxed with a soda as the two talked shop while Betty made dinner and kept Davis from getting too close. The curiosity about the masked man was making him get on an edge but knowing his father was by his side and laughing caused him to want to see what was going on. After an hour, Impossible finally stopped stalling and asked about Matt's other half. Matt quickly shot back, "She comes out whenever I'm home. I haven't had a chance to dress in a couple of days due to the reshoots and needing rest and Mickayla coming over for dinner." Impossible shook his head and told him firmly, "Let her out. I'd rather you get a lot of time at home than you suppress her and cause yourself mental health issues. I've been through this before with family, my niece Maria started to transition a few years ago. We all saw how bad she was feeling and refused to let her keep it in her any longer. It saved her life, she was close to the edge and contemplated ending it all. I don't want that to happen to you. Please, if you are getting those kinds of feelings pull yourself away and be her. It isn't worth your life, wrestling will go on without you but your family will be shattered if they lose you to those dark feelings. Please, let her out." Matt got up and changed, with Impossible telling Taylor firmly, "You are too pretty to be locked away. It's worth it to unwind as your real self. Enjoy it, you deserve it." Impossible hugged Taylor and kissed her cheek, just missing Richard coming upstairs. Richard looked at Taylor and shook his head, complaining about missing the fun. Taylor asked, "Did you get everything done?" which caused Richard to grumble about not having any fun causing her to laugh at the teen trying so hard to procrastinate. Richard finally emerged and whined that everything was done and sat down to watch TV in the living room with Taylor. After some inane show that neither really bothered followed, he asked what she and Impossible were talking about. Taylor sighed and explained, "He's concerned about me. He knows what could happen if I'm not let out. His niece was suicidal until her parents allowed her to become a girl all of the time. She was distraught, I'm nowhere near that level of depression but I understand what he is trying to say. I love being Taylor, but I love what I do as Matt and don't want to give up on that yet." Richard looked at her as if she was joking, then asked, "What about the women like you who have done the change? You talked about how great they are and how much they could do if people set aside their beliefs about women and hormones. You could show them wrong, you could be what they aren't yet." Taylor looked away in shame then burst into tears, bellowing, "I'm not as strong as them! I just can't do it! They had no support but they still went through with their change. Me? I have a loving family and the top promotion in the world willing to hire me to run their women's division but I can't do it. I just don't have the strength to give in to the desires. I'm a coward." The normally stable Taylor was a quivering mess as she confessed her deepest secret to her brother-in-law. Richard didn't say anything, instead going to the kitchen to eat and help his nephews eat while his sister took over and comforted the sobbing Taylor. His look of concern was enough to get her moving fast to help Taylor, with Richard whispering that she was close to a breakdown. Betty kissed Taylor's cheek, telling her lovingly, "You are strong enough, you aren't a coward. Your drive to be a woman just isn't as strong as those ladies. You are your own person, never compare yourself to anyone else because nobody could do what you are doing. You have a loving family but you made friends with a lot of people by being yourself. Just look at Mickayla and Impossible, they are your friends. No, wait. They are your family. And they love you no matter what you are. He didn't mean that you have to become Taylor all of the time, he meant that you need to be ready to admit to yourself that you need to be her and stop ignoring her. Even if you are Matt Simpson in body, you will always be Taylor Thomas in heart." Things were quiet for the next three months as Matt differentiated between babysitting and taping his other in-ring segments. He was happy with how his character was developing as well as how he looked on camera when he finally debuted six weeks after the initial tapings sessions. Matt came off as highly intimidating while Mickayla looked at her best while the commentators slipped bits of information about her new role with Matt into her match broadcasts giving her a much bigger role on the shows than just perennial opponent for the up and coming female wrestlers. Mickayla returned to film her next set of matches and introduced her son Tyson to the Blacks, with Jerome taking to him immediately. The boys spent hours playing in the yard until they tired themselves out and fell asleep. Hank was at a loss for words while Lillian was all smiles as the normally quiet and well-mannered boy was replaced by a happy, rambunctious one thanks to Tyson's influence and Jerome getting bolder than normal trying to impress the new boy. Hank fought for words but finally vocalized, "Alright, have at me. I know he's just like me at the same age. He found his Matt even if he's only here for a short period of time." Matt shot back, "He's trying to be a good host and there's something in Tyson that he likes. You were already a good person, you just needed someone to let you be yourself. Blame your wife for a lot of how you are. We could only do so much with you, she did the rest. We didn't make you into the loving father nor did we give you your confidence to stand up to everyone and ask tough questions. He's his father's son, he's just getting the chance to be himself four years before you did." The night that Matt debuted, the whole family gathered to watch. Taylor was dressed and Tyson barely took notice of her. Before leaving the RV Mickayla sat him down and explained what was going on to which he nodded and told her that he's not stupid, he can read what is posted online like everyone else. He then added, "I was told by Davis and Vinny, they didn't want me to be surprised or mad at her." She was caught off guard and asked what he meant about reading online, he smiled and told her, "I got bored and read the newspapers. They were talking about boys who became girls and boys who became girls and how they are getting into the Olympics and college sports. It wasn't pornography or that other stuff, you know I don't like that stuff. I could barely stomach you doing those bikini photo shoots." The duo entered and sat next to Taylor, with Tyson hugging her to show that he was fine with her. He didn't care one way or another, she wasn't that bad looking but he knew she wasn't his type. He went for girls who were less muscular and who looked more homely, the opposite of his mother and Taylor. Matt Simpson's in-ring debut was odd in that the buildup required a sequence of events that took place throughout the broadcast that culminated with Matt being introduced to the international wrestling world and getting a solid win while stealing the shot of the two wrestlers who were favored to win the tournament for the right to face Impossible at the next pay-per-view. His actual match wasn't the main event, that was the match that was created to set up the feud between the duo leading to ripples that Matt would ride to get to the finals and thus the championship shot. It was complex in person when they filmed it, but it was a stroke of genius when it gradually unfurled on television. Taylor was all smiles as Mickayla joined him on camera to introduce Matt officially to the world. He was just a nameless jobber according to the color commentator, but when Mickayla came out and gave him his proper introduction the crowd went wild with his name being recognized by many of the fans and those who didn't recognize Matt's name simply cheering because the loved his action. It went better than either could have imagined, the commentary team were going crazy as the new guy basked in the glory of the moment and had the established Mickayla smirking for the camera as the credits rolled. Taylor was speechless. It was one thing to perform it live, but seeing it edited and up close from a new perspective was something out of this world. She cringed at spots where she was slow to move or did the hold wrong, getting snickers from Mickayla and Betty over her second-guessing herself. She did a great job overall, she just couldn't break out of the critiquing mindset that she gets into at times. The next five weeks were the same, with Matt pulling off improbable wins as the commentary team set him up as some phenomenal force who was taking the IoH by storm but whose streak would end with the next match. Mickayla and his relationship became a topic that led them to talk about strife between them and how he was using her to get his way in the tournament. Matt's lack of speech was also talked about extensively, with Matt seen as a mysterious force yet not as intimidating as he seemed. Taylor made more and more appearances as Matt didn't have to leave home for any reason. The boys were happy to have her around, with Davis hanging off of her most of the time as he played games with her or watched his favorite TV shows. Vinny was happy to have her home, but wasn't happy that his father had to pick him up from preschool instead of "Aunt Taylor." Two weeks before the pay-per-view, the night Matt would win the tournament and be named as the top contender to face Impossible, the news that the champion had been stripped of his title and that the two would face off for the IoH championship broke. Matt's match that night was an epic match that was seen as the best match of the year by the IoH and made Matt and Impossible into a strong feud that was going to be a feud for the ages. The two were made to be more than they really were, as Impossible's rise in the IoH being paralleled by Matt's rise in the indies and eventual hiring by IoH with neither actually having wrestled together before but it being ignored in favor of a good storyline. Impossible called from his California home while Mickayla called from her Texas home. It was going to be a fun week in Orlando, Impossible's family would be there for him which meant that Taylor was going to be forced to meet his niece Maria and see for herself how things should have been for her if she had just given in to her needs and become Taylor fulltime instead of only at home. She knew this was going to happen, she just didn't think that it would happen for a while. The week before the pay-per-view was spent doing publicity, with Matt and Mickayla doing it together as he wasn't speaking and as his manager she was his voice for the match. She was used to the role but this was one time that she took pride in the role as she truly knew Matt's inner working and what he wanted to say but was barred from saying. She was great in her role, with her own match getting a push thanks to the indirect connection due to Matt's match's hype. Her husband Slick finally met the famous Matt, with Matt crushed in his arms as he hugged him. He was thrilled that his son had a big turnaround now that he could go with his mother to her tapings and even happier that he had made friends with someone his age who didn't want anything from him. Slick shocked Matt by asking him if he was going to celebrate his victory by having a night as Taylor or as Matt, causing Matt to freeze in his tracks and struggle for words. Slick did that on purpose, knowing that Matt would choke on his drink while earning himself a swat from Mickayla as the others laughed at Matt's expression. He happily admitted that he was used to girls like him, you don't travel the world without meeting a few different people. Mickayla shook her head as she knew what he was going to do, he was a born storyteller who loved to talk. Slick dove in to a story about his time in Thailand wrestling for a second-tier Japanese promotion and enjoying some of the local women and laughing as the ladies' secrets were revealed, causing the guys to run scared while he paid for his massage and told the ladies that the guys should learn to translate the signs before they go into establishments. They laughed at his joke and simply performed their job, it was a massage and nothing more and was better than he got from the trainers at the arena. His point was clear, he was fine with Taylor but just had to have some fun at his expense. Impossible's family met Matt and gave him big hugs and kisses causing him to blush deeply. Matt's help in getting Impossible his first world title was appreciated by them, it had saved his career and gave him a chance to wrestle for anyone he wanted now that he was one of the biggest stars in the world. Matt put it entirely on the man who actually won, all he did was put the idea in the writers' heads and let them go with it. The one who Impossible insisted on him meeting was a young woman who was strikingly beautiful. Matt could not believe how gorgeous she was, she looked like a model with her height and skinny frame. When Impossible explained how all of that worked against her before she transitioned, Matt realized just who she was and felt terrible about the whole situation. The two went to the family's suite to talk, with Impossible telling his family that it was private and not to ask anything more. Inside, Matt looked her over and asked her timidly, "What did you do to get so far along? Your uncle told me that you were transitioning but you look so far along that it's tough to see any masculinity ever being in your body." She looked at him and gasped in realization. Matt nodded his head and admitted, "I've never been able to bring myself to transition. I've known I was a girl inside for years but can't transition yet." She understood, explaining to him, "I started just after my 12th birthday. I couldn't do it anymore. I just couldn't deal with the prospect of being a man. We become men early in our family, my older brothers started at just after 12 and started looking like men by 15. I couldn't do it, I told them if I couldn't be a girl I'd end things to keep from becoming a man. They got me help, Tio made them see that I needed help. He said he knew a boy like me who was a girl inside and who was worse off, he couldn't become a girl because he would have to give up his life, he said that he was a good man but he was really a girl inside and hid it well but would lose everything he worked so hard to achieve if he became a girl." Matt shed a tear, Impossible told her about him and used him to help save her life. She looked at him and gasped at the realization, Matt nodded and explained, "It's been 17 years. I am lucky, I don't look too bad as a woman but it's only because I take after my mother. If I took after my father I'd be bigger and would be too large to ever look like a woman." He sighed and added, "I told your uncle this, but you are braver than I ever will be. You had the guts to be who you really are, I'm just a coward. I accept what I am but won't do anything about it. You are a hero, I am jealous of your bravery and your beauty. You are simply beautiful." She blushed and hugged him, the two holding the embrace for a bit before wiping the tears from their faces and rejoining the rest in Impossible's suite. Nothing more was said, but the two were closer than normal. Her parents gave Impossible a raised eyebrow to which he nodded, nonverbally acknowledging the two were connected and that he was the one who had saved her life four years before. The weekend was nonstop action as Matt, Mickayla, and Impossible were all over the place promoting the pay-per-view match with Matt having to keep up kayfabe forcing him to all but stop speaking. He had to spend the night before the match at a hotel away from his family just to isolate him from fans, ensuring that nobody saw the real Matt even if it was already known locally. It was annoying, but it was all for the benefit of everyone involved as it kept the illusion going for thousands at home. It was also a benefit for the families as the three gathered together on Friday for a meal and saw the two 16-year-old kids catching one another's eye. Richard was immediately smitten with the beautiful Maria and gave her something she had longed for years- the attention of a handsome young boy. She loved the attention, especially as he was treating her with dignity instead of like some weirdo that all had to keep away from or who was something that needed to be explored with curiosity. Richard laid eyes on her and could only mutter, "Beautiful," forcing Betty to direct him to his seat while smiling away at her brother's puppy love. When he was formally introduced he was struggling to say a few words leading the adults to look at one another while Impossible whispered to his brother, "He's in love with her. The boy can't get enough of her." After the meal the two went off to a side room alone to talk, with her telling him that she wasn't like the other girls leading him to not believe her. He tried his hardest to see anything to give it away but she was just too beautiful in his eyes. She stood in front of him and pulled down her pants, showing a bulge in her panties which led him to gasp in astonishment while she shed a tear. Richard hugged her after she pulled up her pants, then kissed her cheek. He whispered to her, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you, you are just too beautiful." She kissed him on the lips and smiled back at him, leading to a makeout session while the adults talked. She led his hands to her breasts and let him feel them, then pulled off her top and bra to show him what they looked like unhindered. He was at loss for words, he nearly fainted at the sight in front of him. They were interrupted by their mothers seeking them out, with the two trying to fight for words to tell the ladies just what was going on. After Maria put her bra and shirt back on the two were marched back to where the others were and had to put up with the glares from the adults as Carey told them just what the two had been up to in the next room. The two couldn't look the adults in the face, with poor Richard looking dreadful as he prepared for the oncoming onslaught from Maria's family. The two were sent away, with Richard told to wait in the car until they were finished while Maria went to her room to think about how you are supposed to act with boys she had just met. When the two were out of sight the adults burst into laughter while Carey shook her head in disappointment at her son's act. It wasn't that big of a deal, but the two needed to learn some guidelines and needed the humility. Matt and Betty kept quiet as they knew what was going to be mentioned, with Carey and Nancy giving the two a big smirk showing they could easily make them embarrassed beyond belief. The whole thing was too close to their own activities, but it was more of a curiosity for Betty than sexually charged like the two teens had been. He felt her breast then stopped, but it was enough to get caught by their parents as they were redressing and as he hadn't been Taylor there was no reason for Betty's shirt to be off. The subject of Richard and his reaction to her secret was brought up by her parents, with Jerry happily telling them, "He's used to Taylor, so he should be fine with her. I'd like to know what prompted the two to get so close so quickly, but if my hunch is right it was due to him learning the truth then not reacting to it. He doesn't care, he only saw a good looking girl his own age and reacted to her being close." Carey and Maria's mother walked out and went to her room, then explained to her that she didn't have to do that with Richard to show that she was all girl. She tearfully told them that he didn't believe her when she told him her secret, to which Carey explained, "He's telling you the truth. You are a beautiful young woman who doesn't have any masculine features. You might have been able to create semen before you blossomed up top, but there is nothing masculine about you. He's a regular boy, all he saw was a girl with large breasts and a skinny body. He sees the real you, and only the real you." Her mother asked what they had done, to which Carey snickered and added, "You didn't have to do all of that for him. You never have to prove your femininity to anyone. I'm sure he appreciated it since he's a horny 16- year-old but you really didn't have to do it. Just be yourself, but remember that you two live on opposite sides of the country. You might spend time together tomorrow but remember that fact." The ladies left her to mull over things, watching as she started to text someone and smirked as it had to be Richard down in the car. Carey shook her head at the two, confessing to Maria's mother, "He just broke up with his girlfriend of two years after catching her in bed with his friend. He's projecting a bit but he does like her. He needed the boost in his pride but he knows they aren't an item." The two rejoined the others and didn't say anything more. They talked for another hour before going home. Matt stayed in the hotel and talked with Maria for a bit before retiring for the night, letting her know that Richard was not going to hurt her once the hormonal fog wears off. It was a long night for Matt as his mind was in turmoil over his having indirectly saved someone's life and never knowing, it coupled with Vinny refusing to go to bed while Davis decided it was a good time to act up over not getting another cookie. It was the boys trying hard to be normal after seeing their daddy deep in thought. Matt went to bed late, drained emotionally and physically. Betty gave him a deep kiss and told him that he was going to do well, just let things lay and trust in Impossible. Richard and Maria met early Sunday morning and enjoyed the day together, with Richard's friends and his former friend and girlfriend seeing him happy and with a new girl that was better looking than the girls in their school. The couple enjoyed the looks of shock, jealousy, and lust as Richard kissed her while she showed loving looks to him. Carey told Richard's friends that she was Impossible's niece, giving her and Richard a big boost in their confidence as the looks of shock and disbelief were almost comical. Her parents asked about the others, with them asking what the big deal was with their daughter spending the day with someone she likes. It was a priceless reaction that they got as the guys gave them glares while the ladies looked away in shame as Carey told just what two had done and what the others were doing by abandoning Richard. Richard knew that they were there yet continued on as they walked through the mall and park. He was acting like an escort for the day, with Richard happily being her companion even if they were only going to separate after the match that night. She was happy to be out and about instead of waiting at the hotel until it was time to go to the arena, with Richard being great company. Matt happily enjoyed hearing about the minor confrontation and added his own critique of the other couples, himself not liking how they acted and being proud that Richard didn't stoop to their level and make a big show of being with someone new. Matt happily talked with the couple while they ate lunch, with the couple holding hands and enjoying a kiss when the dishes were cleared away by Matt. They were having a lot of fun just being close, with the incident the night before cooling their jets a lot. The family left for the arena and were met by the IoH producers talking to Impossible while Hank was hovering nearby. He led the kids and Betty away, with the couple staying together and sitting close by their parents yet on their own. He didn't ask what that was all about, just smirking at his brother's good fortune in finding a young lady to enjoy the evening with. Matt and Impossible got ready with Matt being the first on camera as the show opened, escorting the smiling Mickayla to the ring in, "Support" of her as she worked her own match. He would have a part in the match as he kept her opponent's escort at bay and intervening when he hit Mickayla from behind as she was about to hit one of her finishing moves. He played the part perfectly, with the two giving the ladies breathers when they needed them then allowing them to get the focus as Micakayla finally hit her big finishing move, the backward DDT, to win her match. The rest of the night went without much notice as the matches were good but not great. The two who had their feud started due to Matt's elevation to the main event had a long yet memorable match that saw both men bloodied and battered and getting a double count-out as their storyline continued on. It was going to lead to Matt facing them at the next pay-per-view, with Matt winning against both. When the time came, Matt and Impossible got a rousing ovation as the crowd screamed in delight. The two wasted little time as they grappled with one another, flipping one another as they showed why they were so evenly matched. Things suddenly changed after the fourth flip as Impossible landed hard which then caused Matt to land hard on his wrist. Both were hurt, with the referee immediately tossing up the, "X" sign to show an injured wrestler. Their families were scared, it wasn't clear who was hurt but both were in too much pain for it to be a work. The move was one of the simpler moves: a tiger feint kick through the ropes leading to Impossible doing a shooting star press finisher. Impossible hit the kick but his right foot slipped mid-transition causing it to give out and land on Matt, overextending Matt's wrist causing him pain but luckily did not break it. Impossible wasn't able to stand, leading to the referee giving the dreaded "X" signal. Matt was in pain from the force of the missed hit but otherwise uninjured. The same couldn't be said for Impossible, his ankle twisted the wrong way causing him to fall hard on his shoulder causing it to jam leading to his arm being all but useless. The two spent a few seconds writhing in pain as the shock hit them before Impossible regained his senses and told Matt to cover him to end the match. Matt asked him if he was sure, with Impossible moving into position to accept Matt's landing. Matt put on his game face and made his move, blocking out his own pain and slowly walking towards the corner as Impossible made it look like he was trying to recover but secretly moving his body to the right spot to receive the move. Matt slowly climbed, gave a look to the referee that it's ending, then performed his 450 corkscrew frog splash onto Impossible to end the match. The two kept still while the referee counted to three, raising Matt's arm in triumph while IoH's medical officials rushed into the ring to check on Impossible's condition. Matt ignored kayfabe and immediately helped assess the condition of Impossible, seeing that his ankle was sitting the wrong way and telling the ambulance crew to immobilize his ankle while he was placed on the backboard. As they carried him out, he told them to seek out Dr. Betty Simpson as she should be there already waiting backstage. Matt finally stood tall in the ring, with the referee handing him the championship belt with Matt letting the moment go as he looked on at the emergency personnel working on Impossible. He asked for the microphone and spoke for the first time, in his normal voice, telling all of those watching, "Impossible was hurt badly tonight. I don't deserve to win this title this way, not at the expense of my mentor. This is not how I was raised, you don't gain from others' misfortunes. He deserves better, you all do." He handed the belt back and walked with the crew to the rear where Betty was waiting to check over Impossible. Matt held back, watching her as she assessed the damage and told him, "It's your area now, he's lucky- he didn't break anything." Matt took off his mask and went to work, moving his ankle to several angles and pronouncing, "It's a bad sprain, likely a tear of ligaments. We won't know more until we get an MRI but I think he dodged a bullet there. His Achilles is fine, he got lucky. He's out of action for at least a month on the low end, six months on the high end." Matt's breaking of kayfabe upset the producers, especially as they had done so much to keep him from talking. Matt wouldn't hear it, angrily telling them, "I didn't earn the title. It's supposed to be his, not mine. If you have a problem with me refusing it then bury me because I'm not using his injury to move up to the top over everyone else. It's already bad enough that I had this match in the first place, I didn't earn the spot yet. There' a lot of room to tell the story that you want, but I'm earning my title." At home, he needed the kids to help him relax. Davis hugged him tightly and begged Taylor to be let loose. Vinny grabbed Taylor's dress and tossed it at Matt, telling him to be his mommy again. The kids wouldn't stop until Taylor emerged, with the two kids hugging her tightly while Betty kept silent over the duo knowing just how to manipulate their father into doing what they wanted him to do. The kids were put to bed then the couple cuddled in the living room until Taylor fell asleep, which was cause for Betty to do the same but only after she ensured that Taylor was comfortable. She texted her parents to let them know that she was feeling terrible about Impossible's injury but was holding herself together for the sake of the boys. The next morning, Matt called Impossible for an update on his condition and if what he suspected was true. His call was immediately handed off to the doctor at the hospital Impossible went to leading to the two to talk medically after Matt had shown that he wasn't some wannabe, rather he was a doctor in his own rite and had done the initial orthopedic exam of Impossible. The doctor was candid, telling him that he suffered a severe high ankle sprain with torn ligaments that needed surgery to correct. Matt agreed, adding that he probably would be out of action for three to four months. It stunk, but there was little that they could do to speed things up especially given his need for mobility. Impossible was going to miss the next pay-per-view, with Matt forced to fill his role until then. Matt's next calls were to the executive producers to update them, forcing Matt to have a meeting with them to discuss the future and where to go from there. Matt refused to wear the belt, but they couldn't strip him of it as he had won it "legally" and if he walked out on the title there would be issues with the other wrestlers complaining about their shots not coming. Matt reluctantly agreed, telling them that he wouldn't wear it but would have it with him by having Mickayla carry it for him. Things were back to normal for the next three months as Impossible worked hard to rehab and return, he was able to contribute to the tapings by being close to Matt as the IoH showed Matt and him close by and talking while Matt worked with him to improve his strength. It wasn't entirely kayfabe, it was real as Matt was acting as a doctor assessing Impossible's movement and healing. They never showed that he was a real doctor, they simply showed Matt the protege helping his mentor. Impossible spent a lot of time with the family, moving in with them as he rehabbed so he didn't have to go back and forth to California. Richard was a frequent guest and was constantly embarrassed for his crush on Impossible's niece Maria. It was all in good fun, she called Impossible as much as possible and was frequently talking with Richard on the weekends. Taylor was always around, with the boys enjoying being spoiled by her. She would spend hours in the sun getting a tan while the boys swam or played on the grass, the two always acting calmer around her. Impossible would happily tell her that she was making a mistake by trying to be who she wasn't, she is a beautiful woman and should spread her wings for all to see instead of cloistering herself at home. Impossible's big return saw his family returning to Florida, which meant the young couple could spend time together. Richard was allowed to take Maria on the town and show her more parts of the region but told to keep things decent. The couple ignored that request, immediately after leaving their parents the couple went to a secluded park and enjoy pleasuring one another in the car. The couple then skinny-dipped at the Simpson home, with Richard not even balking at seeing her penis as she got undressed. He gave her pleasure that she could never imagine, with the two having anal sex with one another as Richard refused to give without allowing himself to receive. She was reluctant to do that to him, but he insisted that she deserves the chance to give even if she didn't like it. The couple finally wrapped up their lovemaking by going back to the hotel, only to be met by both sets of parents giving them a look of disappointment. Richard stood up to them, telling them loudly, "Yes, we did it. We enjoyed what we did. We are aware of what could happen, but unfortunately for her, it's not going to happen. She needed to feel beautiful and she did. We did what you told us not to do, but we are not going to pretend that we don't like one another enough to give pleasure to each other. It felt right and we both enjoyed out time together." All of them burst into laughter while the couple were left looking at one another in shock. It wasn't the reaction that they had expected, they were happy for them. Jerry finally pulled himself together and boldly told the couple, "We watched the two of you go to the house, we left it to our imaginations what you two were doing but you confirmed what we suspected. No, she can't get pregnant. But that's beside the point. We told you to behave and you broke that rule. She is still vulnerable and you are the first boy who has shown an interest in her sexually. You two are too hot and heavy, cool your jets." The two weren't punished for having sex, but he did tell her that it wasn't fair to her to pine for her when they were living on opposite sides of the country. Maria understood, she was happy to have a cute boy who liked her for herself being nice to her and seeing her as someone to enjoy sex with. The two did share kisses as they cuddled in the suite before they left for the arena, with Maria telling him that she would always love him as her first was always going to be special. The return went without a hitch as Matt dropped his title to Impossible in a tight match that showed the two as they were supposed to be shown initially. Matt loved working with Impossible, he was fast and strong and could take the same bumps that he routinely took. Matt accepted Impossible's tiger feint kick to "head" allowing him to set up his signature finisher, the Impossible flip which involved him was a corkscrew 630 degree senton onto Matt's chest. Impossible hit his move and pinned Matt, with Matt giving him a big hug and raising the belt alongside him as Impossible claimed the championship that belonged to him. Matt's hug was quickly followed by Mickayla Jade as the three walked out as one. Mickayla would now split her time as manager to both, with the two forming a partnership but being their own people as Matt's story went one direction while Impossible's went in another with Mickayla being alongside both. The fun times lasted throughout the rest of the year, with Matt enjoying his time in the IoH and seeing his t-shirt sales increasing steadily and one of the tops among the independent wrestlers. He steadily got more and more speaking parts as his character grew, allowing him to interact with fans and not appear to be a menacing small man but the nice guy he had always crafted his character to be. He was enjoying meeting people especially when he met folks who hadn't seen wrestling performed the way he and Impossible performed it, giving them a sense that it wasn't just people brawling to see who was the strongest or who could hit the other the hardest. Taylor was around almost all of the time at home, with Matt only returning when he had to go back to do more tapings. It was getting tougher and tougher to become Matt, she tried everything to psyche herself into the mindset of Matt but it was slow in coming. She was fearful that Matt was slipping away and she might finally be forced to end her career and become Taylor fulltime. She needed a long talk with Maria to bring her back from the edge of breaking down. She was eager to help Taylor, with the two talking for hours while Taylor helped her with homework and saw her starting to calm herself while also helping the girl ease into her new relationship at school It was tough to tell Richard that she had finally found someone, but Richard understood that the two had a lot of distance between them but he held out hope that maybe someday they'd be together. Richard had little luck in love, Taylor talked with him about his feelings but it was tough to get the boy to see that it was best to move on from his first true crush and find a girl who was closer to home. The girls in his school were all over him trying to date him once pictures of his now-former girlfriend were spread, he had the pick of them but his heart yearned for someone who couldn't be with him. He did find someone, but she took a while to crack through his armor and show that she cared about him for himself and not for a cheap screw as most of the girls in his school were going for. Taylor got to look after Mickayla's son Tyson when her husband underwent surgery followed quickly by her parents coming down with a contagious viral infection. Tyson was happy to enjoy the time with the Simpsons, with "Aunt Taylor" being a personal favorite as she spent much of her day working with him on school work then relaxing as he swam in the Simpsons' pool. Mickayla had a lot of matches to film and swapped Matt for Impossible allowing Taylor to watch Tyson and give her a needed rest. Tyson asked if Taylor was ever going to go to the NEW, which gave Taylor a some food for thought but she explained to him, "I'm barred from joining them due to King Reign. He hates me, he has hated me since he met me. I don't know why he hates me, but he does whatever is possible to keep me from getting a fair tryout. Anyone who is around me is blackballed from joining, it sucks but it's just not going to change. His wife Stacy loves me, but he keeps his home life separate from his work life." Tyson smirked and announced, "Mom told Stacy that you were ready for NEW. She is working with her to give you a shot, getting her dad to force King to back off before they lose you completely. They want you to be part of NEW and GCW, they have always wanted you with them and King will have to have a very good reason for denying going after you which we all know he doesn't have." She hugged Tyson, kissing his forehead and telling him affectionately, "You are too smart. It's like I'm looking in a mirror to myself at the same age. You are going places if you let it, but I know your heart is set on being your own person. You will make your family name proud." Mickayla saw Tyson's smile and shook her head, telling Taylor, "She's putting her foot down. It's been going on for far too long, he has no right to hurt anyone else because he doesn't like you. It's one thing to go after you, but to try to kill the careers of anyone who wrestles you is too far. It's childish, it may have been something her father did in the past but is something he regrets ever doing." Taylor nodded, adding, "Tell her I'll sign with them. I'll negotiate with them for fair pay and all of that but one thing is non-negotiable: the mask and the hair. I'm not cutting it and I'm not losing my mask. I'll give it up when I say, most likely when Impossible's son comes of age but not a moment before then." Mickayla smiled and nodded, texted someone, then saw Taylor's phone ring. She answered it and her face dropped, Vince Turner was on the phone wanting to speak with her about joining the NEW and being their newest senior producer. He emphasized that it was a one-year contract with an automatic renewal with secondary clauses that kick-in making it an entry-level contract with the GCW if/when she is called up to the GCW. Taylor happily told them she'd sign it when she read it over, but emphasized that she was going to ensure that parts of it were excluded as she knew that there were frequently "personal conduct" clauses that were targeted at gay wrestlers. King was a sneak and had gotten several wrestlers fired by invoking those clauses, with their careers severely harmed due to the appearance of impropriety. King knew how to get the truth stretched and manipulated so facts were ignored while keeping in the "right" legally. She talked with Impossible about the contract offer, with Impossible laughing at her being smart to not sign right away. It was clear why Matt would ask to look at it, Taylor couldn't exist while he was under contract as any dressing as her would invoke the clause causing him to get fired with justification. None of them could blame him for trying to protect himself, especially as Taylor was too important. Matt broke the news to the IoH executives, with the group threatening to sue him for breach of contract for not giving them exclusive rights to negotiate an extension. Matt just laughed, pointed out that there was no clause giving them that right, and pointed out all of the extra work that he did for them without additional pay. He wasn't backing down, and happily told them he'd leave no matter what now that they had shown their true colors regarding him. Matt read the GCW contract offer, pointed out the offensive clauses, then had them removed. He told Vince that he was happy to join them but they needed those clauses removed permanently before the wrong people got a hold of them. He agreed, working with the talent to remove all of the clauses in the current and in-negotiation contracts. King was purposely left unaware of the changes, he had no reason to be informed as it wasn't his job to work on contracts. He would have killed the deal outright without discussing it with Vince and forced the scout who wanted to sign Matt to be kicked out of the company for going against his unwritten rule. Vince was not about to let King destroy the career of the one person he had been desiring for 14 years, Vince was already upset that it took three years to get the chance to sign him and another to have him on TV full-time. The news that Matt was signing with the GCW sent shockwaves through the IoH roster. Matt was the guy they didn't expect to ever get a shot with them, especially with how much King talked down about Matt's abilities. King's not liking you was a death sentence for your career, yet Matt had gotten himself the golden ticket to stardom and being a top draw at any independent show in the country for two years. To prepare for Matt's eventual departure, the IoH started to force him down the roster until he was of no use to them anymore. Matt killed that idea, with him standing up to them for being petty. He asked if that was how they were going to treat the others when they got a better offer, with the roster giving him a look of shock then asking the same question of the IoH producers for their own sake. It was a big standoff, which Matt won. He would main event the last pay- per-view, with Matt choosing to go out on top and ceding his mask to Impossible. He had a solid reason for doing so, he wanted to give it to Impossible's son so he could use it for his own rise in the ranks of wrestling world that was on the cusp of occurring in just a few months. In their final bout, Impossible pinned Matt which was immediately followed by Matt smiling to the crowd, telling them that he was departing the company, and taking off his mask in public for the first time. He folded it and handed it to Impossible, kneeling down and proudly proclaiming, "El Hijo De Impossibl? is born. He deserves the honor of wearing the mask of your family now. You will always be my T?o, but his time is now. Good luck to him, and may the Impossible family reign forever. He will join his father in the ring, we will be proud when he dons this mask alongside yours." Impossible hugged him tightly then led him backstage. Mickayla carried the mask with honor, shedding tears over the powerful scene that unfurled in front of her as she did so. The entire bit left the crowd in silence as they got to see their hero for the first time and saw just how close the two really were. Matt wasn't joking when he said his remarks, he meant every word and loved Impossible like an uncle just as Mickayla was an aunt and he truly wished the best for Impossible's son in the near future. There was little to be said as Matt packed up for the final time. Fans left him alone as he exited, giving him a chance to be himself and leave the IoH in silence. He enjoyed his time, but it was to him but one stop in his journey and now the final push was beginning. The Simpsons endured multiple phone calls from friends and family about what Matt had done. Most had no idea that he was the same Matt Simpson that was in the IoH. It was tough for a lot of them to see that it wasn't a publicity stunt, Matt was going into the GCW as himself and not someone's protege. Vince was the call that he was dreading, but Vince happily told him that he would have been fine with him wearing the mask as it was his own creation and he trusted him to wear it proudly. Matt told him his real reason for the mask removal- it was going to be forcibly removed no matter what. He felt that it was better that he removes it himself so he could wear it again should he so choose rather than have it taken away from him under Luchas de Apuestas rules in a match forced on him by King. Vince agreed with him, the rules were a pain at times for the creative teams but if it was agreed to by the opponents then he had to remain without the mask for the rest of his career. King would ensure that it happened, his hatred of Matt would never allow him to let Matt get his way nor could Matt refuse to listen to King. Vince then added that he was backing Matt in full and no matter what, Matt was his guy even if it cost King his job and family. Matt wasted little time and reported to the NEW training center. The executive producer didn't bother trying to work with him on his ideas for his character, he let Matt have at it on his own. Matt just gave him a smirk and said two words: "Consummate underdog." Matt knew that he was too small to be taken seriously as a contender for the GCW championship, but he could be someone whose story was to try everything possible to get to the title. His idea was simple: he would be underestimated by opponents, ignored by management, and bullied by heels until he was put into the ring and showed that he was tough to beat. He was a babyface who fans could get behind and work the crowds, getting heels over as he took a beating at times so the story could move forward. It was classic Matt, the producer that the NEW had for six years fulltime before his residency. Matt had plans and those plans were what the NEW needed at the time, which was the reason that Vince went to Matt instead of someone else. Matt wasn't just their newest wrestler, he was their creative consultant. Matt met the other wrestlers of NEW and hit it off with the ladies while meeting a brick wall with the men. It wasn't a surprise, most of them had toiled in the indies for over a decade before being offered a shot at NEW while Matt was handed his from Vince himself. Matt ignored the men, if they were going to be petty then so be it, the ladies were better than any of them anyway. The ladies were a mix of international signees and former indie up-and- comers who were eye candy yet had the talent to do well if used the right way. Matt knew two of them, Tanya and Anya, from their time in the FWA and was pleased that they had gotten hired, but knew their looks were more important than their abilities. He was scared stiff that Tanya and Anya would ask about "Ara?a" but they knew not to do it around others. Matt's ideas didn't sit well with the guys as they had to do more to adapt to his style and were made to look worse as they had to work harder to keep pace with him and find their own style that worked. Fans were already going for Matt based on his local lineage, it was going to be tough to get themselves over with fans with Matt forcing them to act like better wrestlers. It wasn't Matt's fault, he wasn't going to change his entire style accommodate the guys while they barely changed a thing. The ladies sought out Matt's help as the two who knew him were vocal about him being the best to help them refine their characters and fix their matches in ways that the producers couldn't. Matt was left to do as he pleased with the ladies, nobody in NEW dared to stop him especially when he was in the zone and had his mind working. Anyone who asked why he was allowed to meddle in the ladies' affairs was told stories about Matt's ideas for multiple matches that were voted instant classics by fans. After the first day, Tanya and Anya finally got the chance to ask about Ara?a and how she was doing. Matt was all smiles as he told them how she was in Japan and Mexico working with their top promotions and was bringing in a good bit of money for him thanks to the huge following she had earned among the Japanese and Mexican fans. They smiled at hearing that, especially when he told them just how much he had made from her contract- a surprising $50,000 from his 10% royalty fee for all of her hard work overin Japan and Mexico! The ladies went with him to dinner while the single guys were angry that they were being ignored by the few single ladies. Matt's prior relationship with the ladies was seen as laughable, until Wally and Nancy happily told them, "He not only knows Tanya and Anya but he saved their careers multiple times over back in the FWA. They worked with him on their styles and got more out of him than they got out of the training schools they paid to attend. Matt's smaller than you, but he has been part of this sport for over 30 years. He grew up around the ring, few others have spent more time around the ring nor know the ins and outs better than him. If you keep it up you will be left behind when call-ups happen as he is going to be one of the first to get the call thanks to his knowing 2/3rds of the roster already with five of the specifically working with him here and in GCW." They challenged the Simpsons, only to get laughed at by the NEW crew as they stood strong over the wrestlers and were not afraid to protect their bosses. Being outnumbered three to one they backed off and let the Simpsons pass, while the crew let them know that Vince had eyes and ears there. The threat was brushed off, until one added, "King can't protect you from hurting Matt. Matt is Stacy's godson and she has a huge spot in her heart for him. King is a fool to go after Matt, whatever he is going to pay you to take Matt out will never get paid because she will seize it and dump her husband's sorry ass then ensure that he never works for anyone again." Matt got a text from his father telling him that the male wrestlers were in the bag for King. He shook his head in disappointment, they were all the same body type and would never get a big push no matter how much the crowd loved or hated them. He knew he'd get a fair shot, but only because his support was too great to get overlooked for long and he brought a change of storyline that they sorely needed. The ladies asked what was going on then laughed at what he told them. Both shook their heads at the sheer idiocy of trying to go after the two people in NEW that you don't want to mess with especially if it deals with their only child. They happily told him about their antics and how the guys were having trouble making their characters work and were actually on the verge of being released, the guys who are actually going somewhere weren't there yet as they were on the road touring that weekend. The ladies finally stopped twiddling their thumbs and asked about his "extracurricular activities" with one jokingly whispering, "Your cross- dressing." Matt fumbled for the right words which answered the ladies' question without answering it- he still did it. It was the last thing they would have expected him to say to them, it was all well and good to dress as "Ara?a" but to continue to do so after was a shock. Matt sighed and explained, "I do it every night at home. Yes my wife knows about it, she makes me do it because she is concerned about me. I'm transgender. I am a girl inside but am fine not becoming one yet. I dress because I have to dress as a woman, but I am fine being a guy. When I'm done wrestling I'll finally become my true self, but not before I'm finished." Both let it go, he was one of the few guys that were "safe" to them and could empathize with them on their level without trying to get into their panties. He didn't need to, he had a loving wife at home. He was one of the few guys who never strayed from his wife, no matter how much the guys in the FWA, GWF, and SWL tried to make him. Their meal broke and saw Matt leading the ladies to their dormitory at the NEW Complex. He gave them hugs goodnight then walked away, with the guys glaring at him from their dorm windows, jealous at someone so small getting close to the ladies. He didn't bother looking up, he knew that they were in the windows watching and didn't want to give them anything to complain about. At home, the boys wanted to hear about what happened then went to bed as promised once they had their fill of stories. Betty looked concerned about the ladies knowing his secret, but Matt trusted them to not tell a soul as they'd give up their dreams if they hurt him. He went to bed with a smile as he felt like he was getting things going right with his life even if it was only the first day with NEW. Taylor came out the next day, working out and swimming while the boys played close by and enjoyed the fun of being home with Taylor. She was affectionate to them, with Davis giving her loving eyes that were tough to refuse. He stuck by her side to the point that she couldn't go to the bathroom without him being outside the door waiting for her to exit. Betty was exhausted from work and let Taylor do all of the cooking and cleaning. Taylor was a great help and listened as Betty vented her sadness over losing a patient. It was a touching moment, one that was a long time in the making and needed to happen for both their sake. Taylor spent the next few days catching up on basic household things while Betty relaxed after shifts. It was wearing down on her, the more she worked the tougher it was to not feel like she was burning out as a doctor and was doing a lot of work that others should have been doing but left to her to do. Taylor understood, she had it rough as she was more empathetic to patients than any of her colleagues. Taylor looked away in shame then asked her affectionately, "Would you be willing to give it all up when I get called up to the main roster? It'll be tough on all of us, I don't want you getting overwhelmed. Our parents are willing to help, but this is something that we need to talk about now before it happens." Betty sighed then kissed her wife, telling her lovingly, "I'll tender my resignation when Vince makes it official. I can't raise the kids alone, I can't make our parents be there for us all of the time. They have a life to live, mom and dad might be winding down but your parents are still going strong. I can't burden them with the kids while I'm stuck working a job that we don't need." Taylor hugged and kissed her again, adding, "We can travel the country in an RV between shows. It'll be a lot cheaper than spending money on airfare and car rental fees. The kids are smart, it'll be alright to homeschool them for a bit before we need to send them to regular school. Vinny is already pretty far ahead of other kids, he wouldn't be hurt by us teaching him. I'm hoping to be able to do weekends-only by the time Davis is ready for regular school but it'll be tough to rise the ranks fast enough to get that schedule without doing two to three years on the circuit doing house shows." It was tough to admit that, but it was the honest truth. She would have a lot to do to get to that schedule so she didn't have to do mid-week house shows, so unless she wanted to completely miss her kids growing-up she needed to take them with her for her trips. Thankfully for her, that was a long way off as Davis had another two years to go before he started school. Matt returned to work with the trainers at NEW and butted heads immediately. He refused to take any supplements that couldn't be verified as being natural and actually beneficial to him and wouldn't work with the doctor hired by NEW to oversee wrestlers to build his body. He called their bluffs when they threatened action against him, demanding that they show cause for doing so as he knew the wellness policies and what was banned and knew he would end up getting them fired for trying to skirt them. Matt smirked and asked the doctor, "Please, tell a colleague how I have to do something that I know is going to harm my body, isn't medically necessary, and won't actually help me in any way. By all means, tell me how I need to put my heart, lungs, liver, and other organs at risk due to unnecessary dietary supplements that have no reason to be taken by me or anyone else here." When the doctor claimed that he wasn't any doctor whatsoever, Matt happily told him, "I graduated from the University of Orlando Medical School, did my residency at Orlando Hopkins Hospital while studying sports medicine alongside the Orlando Breakers' team doctor. Just what experience do any of you have as a sports medicine doctor? As I have no injuries, just what the hell is your role other than to try to create some overbuilt man? It sure as hell isn't to help me recover from any injury!" He waited for a reply, then told him angrily, "If you so much as attempt to have me fired, I'll have your ass handed to you by the state licensing board for malpractice as you have no experience in the field of which you are practicing and are trying to treat a person against his will with medicine that he doesn't need. You are an internal medicine specialist, this is a sports medical issue. You are trying to medicate people without just cause, doing so without informing them of potential side effects, and then trying to threaten them if they don't agree to allow you to treat them. That's both highly immoral and illegal." He walked out, told the trainers, "Contact me with whatever your actual workout plans are. Save the medical stuff for real doctors. I'm not some rube who will fall for whatever you are selling. I'm not afraid to protect myself and the other wrestlers here from guaranteed harm." Once home, Taylor emerged and proceeded to work out to burn off her aggression. She spent much of the afternoon running and lifting weights, then swam to cool off and relax her muscles. It was easier to let her mind focus on herself than to deal with the angry phone calls from the training staff who think that they know what is best for everyone but don't know the outcome of what's going on. Taylor knew the outcome. Her body was going to stay small no matter how much growth hormones were pumped into her body, all it would do would build unnecessary musculature that wouldn't look good on her and would interfere with her movement. The others may let the doctor do as he pleases, but she wasn't going to hurt her body just to look like a wannabe wrestler. When she finally stopped stalling and returned the phone call from the head trainer she listened as he spewed unmitigated garbage about her not knowing what the hell she was doing nor would he let her get away with thinking that she runs the place. She let him talk himself into a corner then asked a hard, "Are you telling me that either I do as you demand, or I'm fired? By all means clarify that." She let him stumble for words, then shot back, "I'll be there tomorrow. I told your training staff to have an actual plan for training ready to go. It doesn't require any doctor's approval. If you try to claim that I have to follow your orders I'll have your ass fired for endangerment and extortion. I know what I need to do to get into shape, I know the medical side of training far more than you ever will. By all means, please tell an accredited sports medicine specialist how he needs to listen to a man without so much as a degree in physical therapy nor any license to practice physical therapy that I must listen to orders from you. If you aren't fired to save the NEW from state scrutiny you will be put in jail for threats when the state police come to investigate the NEW for drug violations." She smirked, she wasn't going to be bullied by some man who thinks that just because he holds power in one small area that he can make or break people's lives. Taylor had dealt with those kinds of people before in medical school and during her residency, it wasn't anything new. He was trying to bark up the wrong tree and was about to get a pack of hungry squirrels chasing after him. She hung up on him, called the executive producer, then called the head of GCW's talent development and gave both an earful over their unlawful threats and putting the wrestlers in medical danger by threatening their careers if they didn't listen to some quack intent on medicating them without cause. She wasn't fooling around, she happily told them, "I wasn't joking about going to the state about your practices. You don't force people to take medications that they don't need and definitely without telling them about the side effects. None of the stuff given to them is needed, they can accomplish the same by just training and resting. And why is he even there to begin with? He isn't a sports medicine doctor, he's not accredited to work with us in the capacity that he is working. You can't force a doctor on someone, especially one who isn't qualified to practice in the field that he's practicing! Hell, you guys just left yourself open to huge lawsuits by the wrestlers if something happened to them! There's several who would gladly sue Vince and the GCW for allowing harm to come to them just to earn a huge payout." Dr. Matt Simpson was on a rampage and wasn't threatening, he was guaranteeing. The two listened to him intently then relented, allowing Matt to force the doctor out and have one who is from the sports medicine field brought in to work with the wrestlers. Matt was told that until one was found, he would have to fill in and would do so as a doctor not as a wrestler. Matt understood, he'd have to be "disciplined" but it wasn't actually disciplining him: he needed to be the one who oversaw the wrestlers as the only person qualified to do so. He would have to do it despite the objections of the male wrestlers and with the rest of the NEW taking a look of anger over the whole situation. It didn't matter that Matt had likely extended their careers and saved them from damage to their bodies, they saw him as disrupting things unnecessarily and getting things his way. Taylor explained everything to Betty, then listened to her snort and finally roll on the floor laughing. Davis and Vinny were doing the same, but only because their mother was acting funny causing them to laugh at her laughing. Taylor shook her head at the absurdity of the situation, it was funny but also sad. Matt had pretty much killed the doctor's career as the reason for his firing would be asked about by his new employer and the NEW wouldn't be able to lie as they would be on the hook if the doctor got into trouble at his new job. It didn't matter as he broke the law and he swore an oath to do no harm, he was harming them without telling them that he was harming them all in the name of "development." The family shared a happy meal together, with Davis asking a pointed, "Are you ever going to stay as our mommy?" Taylor hated lying to him, but she told him, "Someday. I promise you that I'll do it someday. I love you too much to let you be hurt but one day I'll be your mommy." Taylor endured the same question again from Betty after she put the kids to bed. Betty wouldn't let her lie to her, insisting that she tell her the truth and to no longer hold back. She was building up to this for a long time, she feared that Taylor would never get around to transitioning and fulfilling her inner need. Taylor refused to answer the question, instead, she closed off from Betty then decided to sleep in their spare bedroom for the night. Betty shed a tear, it was affecting Taylor but she couldn't see to it nor would she talk about it. She hadn't been talking with Dr. Vlad Acula as she had sworn to do, it was time to start talking with him again especially with her so close to achieving her dreams as Matt. The next day, Matt wouldn't talk with Betty as he got ready for the day. She had to fight back tears but didn't cry as the boys were watching them and sensed some trouble. The boys hugged and kissed Matt to try to sooth the couple's issues, but even they couldn't break him out of his bad mood. After Matt left for the NEW facility, Betty called Dr. Acula. She was upset and feared for Matt/Taylor and feared that she might have gone too far in pushing the issue. She was crying, with the boys getting concerned but listening to her when she told them to go play in the next room. Dr. Acula listened then told her that Matt was going to be alright for the time being. He had a lot on his mind, he was trying to do his best and couldn't afford to be burdened with thoughts of being who he couldn't be yet. He was still dressing as Taylor, which showed that she wasn't being suppressed and that she was still part of his life even if he wasn't ready to fully embrace her. Betty calmed down but he asked her to talk with him as a patient as she needed to talk with someone who understood what she was going through. She agreed if Matt wasn't going to transition she at least had an ear who could help ease her fears. She was as much a part of Taylor's life as Matt and who needs a chance to talk out her fears and issues so she could help Matt deal with his own issues. Matt went to the facility with a chip on his shoulder and went right to the medical office and worked with the trainers to look at the wrestlers' training schedules, injury histories, then medical histories to spot anything that needed addressing. The administration of the supplements was stopped, he didn't see any notation of what the doctor was giving them in any of their files so what he was giving them wasn't what was being claimed. He looked at some of the histories and saw the truth: it was painkillers mixed with energy supplements and vitamins, an attempt by someone to get around the wellness policy so the wrestlers weren't busted for addiction. He wrote down notes and told the trainers to bring in each of the wrestlers for a drug test and any who refused were to be directed to the producers and legal for an explanation. He suspected that this was yet another of King Reign's schemes to keep them in line, only this was more dangerous as he was playing with fire and could easily get the NEW and GCW burned. King could not care any less about anyone's health- as long as he was making money and in control, it didn't matter if you were hurt. Matt spent hours poring over medical records and seeing a pattern of the good doctor over-prescribing to the wrestlers then giving supplements that made no sense as there was no need for them. He took his issues to management and got the affected wrestlers taken out of their matches while having Matt look over their test results and saw what he suspected: all had tested positive for drugs that weren't officially prescribed but had come from the doctor. It was clear what was in the shots they were receiving, the wrestlers were forced to either get clean on their own by way of a GCW supported recovery center or were suspended for a month while they got clean with the public knowing of the violation. Matt was blamed but it was pointed out that he had nothing to do with them being medicated by a guy who didn't belong in the sports medicine world. Matt made the calls to the proper authorities and had the doctor was arrested for illegally prescribing drugs, medical malpractice, and drug possession as he was found in possession of dozens of vials of liquid narcotics and other illegal drugs with no reason to have possession of. The NEW had to endure media scrutiny but Matt had the right people in place to direct the attention to the doctor and away from NEW, Hank happily gave an inside scoop to any of the assigned reporters thanks to Matt tipping him off about the whole situation. Matt had an adversarial relationship with the men but he and the ladies were a different matter. He had an easier time working with them, he understood the tough time they had dealing with constant abuse from instructors and the leers of the staff as the scantily clad women wrestled and endured massages and stretches. He asked about issues that the doctor never did, like dealing with their periods and any lingering injuries from previous wrestling companies that were still affecting them. He changed their lifting and in-ring schedules to allow for days when they would be "preoccupied" with menstrual issues and increased their cardio those days. It saved them a lot of personal discomfort and potential muscle issues and saved the staff from a lot of angry outbursts and overreactions that the instructors usually invoked. He was sure to keep them from overdoing things, they were simply unable to do a lot of work certain days yet were frequently driven over the limit by the training staff. He showed the revamped workout schedule and got the go-ahead from the instructors to implement it as it wasn't affecting their in-ring time. They weren't about to go against a command from the bosses, especially with Stacy Turner calling the executive producers to find out what the heck happened with the doctor and who had replaced him. The fact that it was Matt who had been in the middle of it wasn't what angered her, it was that the doctor was so far removed from doing his job and wasn't qualified to begin with that upset her the most. Stacy talked with Matt and visibly grew angry, but held her temper in check. She was overruling King's angry complaints and letting Matt make the changes needed to ensure the health and safety of their athletes. He would have to explain to her why he felt the need to have their wrestlers injure themselves and become addicted to the medications that were being given to them, unless he had a valid answer he had no choice but to just remain quiet and leave Matt alone. Matt didn't get to wrestle for a week, he was too busy fixing the medical situation to be able to do much of anything else. He vetted several local doctors and got approval for them, with one being a great fit as she worked with local high school and college teams and had treated several pro wrestlers from indie companies in her private practice. She was hired and took over as soon as her background check came through, with Matt being her first patient as she assessed his own lengthy medical past and signed off on him proceeding in full since Matt hadn't gotten the "all clear" yet. She asked him in private about the mental health notations, which caused him to stop dead in his tracks. He turned and locked the door, then explained to her, "If any of this is revealed to anyone at NEW your career will be over. I'll sue you for violating my rights as well as ensure that you never work in the field of medicine again. That's not including what Vince and Stacy Turner will do to your reputation. You'll be lucky to find a job in a rural clinic in the dark depths of Alaska when they get through with you." His voice was one of seriousness and personal preservation. She looked him in the eye and told him to take as a seat, she wasn't going to kill her career and potentially hurt someone whose health is in her hands by violating his rights. She asked him again, this time asking for the truth and not a deflection. Matt took a deep breath and explained, "I'm transgender. Few know that I am and those who do are sworn to secrecy for my sake. I was diagnosed at 13 by a local doctor and was in his care for years but haven't spoken with him for several years. My wife has had sessions with him and is dealing with my putting off transitioning until I feel that I am ready. Before you ask, I plan to do so when I am finished with wrestling. I love this too much to give up on trying to make it to the GCW, I have the full support of the ownership...well Vince and Stacy anyway. His son-in-law is the one I have to worry about and he will be the one who will make my life a living hell when I come out. That's why I want to live my life first before I give into my inner woman." He stopped and let her comment, to which she just let him go telling him, "Well OK. I just wanted to see for sure just in case there was going to be an addiction issue. Several are already facing discipline from what my predecessor did. I'll keep an eye on them but odds are they will be gone soon. You might not have had the addiction training but the way they responded to me when I talked with them showed to me that they weren't likely to get fully clean nor let anyone tell them what to do with their bodies." Matt joined the wrestlers in their training, finding a cold shoulder from the men but getting acceptance from the women. Given the size difference, it wasn't a shock. They had similar programs and Matt was in the middle of the pack in terms of size. There were three larger women averaging about 220 pounds a piece and who were serving as the powerhouses for the women; there were three smaller women averaging about 120 to 130 pounds and acting as the eye candy; then there was Matt's 170 pound body being right in the middle but being the only aerialist among the group. The guys ribbed him as he worked with them, performing moves that worked to their advantage and allowed them to work on their counters and timing while he was working on speed and responses. He was improving more and more as time wore on, learning the GCW style of movement that was tough for many to learn but was quickly becoming second nature to him as he had done it so many times in the past as a producer. The larger ladies were good fodder for his turnbuckle moves, especially his huricaranas and frankensteiners as they were bulkier than the men meaning he had to have precise placement or else he'd miss and cause them to crash together hurting the two of them. He accepted their own moves and took a bigger beating than they normally give, but it was beneficial to him as he was able to work on his landings as the men weren't high fliers and didn't use the same kind of moves but GCW had a few who did have them. Without thinking about it, the ladies were able to prepare Matt more for the GCW than the men were. Reviewing their moves Matt had to hand it to the ladies, they were good at their moves and worked hard to fix their mistakes. The guys were still upset at Matt and during the lunch break let him know that they thought he was just a fraud who used his influence to get hired with the company and hadn't earned his place with them. Matt ignored them, they were jealous of him being so close with the women and having a life outside of the training center while none of them had any prospects for marriage or doing much beyond life in the ring. The ladies were more than happy to have Matt as, "One of them" as the guys joked, he was a hard worker and in their eyes, he had done enough to warrant their companionship. At home, Betty was calmer but still a little distant. The boys were quiet as well, but it was due to being worn out by their grandparents' constant distractions. The four didn't say anything about Betty dropping the boys with them, her meeting with Dr. Acula was too important to discuss yet. In bed, Betty confessed to seeing Dr. Acula, to which Taylor nodded and added, "I knew you would see him. You needed assurances that you weren't wrong in your wanting what is best for me and he was the best person to talk to. I just hope that he was able to tell you what you needed to hear." She nodded, letting it go as the two went to sleep. The next morning Matt hugged and kissed her to show that he was proud of her, then leaving for his first true day in the ring with the men. She wished him luck, she knew that he would need it as she didn't trust any of them. The training was long and tough. The men were brutal with him, flinging him around like a rag doll as they got their laughs at the smaller guy trying to play with the big men. The laughs turned into anger as their fun was hurting them as Matt pointed out how they were screwing up each of their moves and if he didn't catch their mistakes they would either have broken arms and ankles or they would have been knocked unconscious by the impacts onto the mat. He was brutal in his critiquing, pointed out each of their mistakes and why they screwed up. There was no way that they could deny that they were intentionally trying to hurt him but their own screw-ups were the big problem. There was no excuse for their blunders, it wasn't doing anything for them and the fact that they would be willing to hurt another wrestler caused the instructors to pound into their errors and what the GCW felt about their actions. Matt worked with the instructors to show how the moves were supposed to be conducted, where every single hand was supposed to go, and why the split-second timing was key to their safety. Matt's own quick movements were on the mark and were easily quickest in reaction and correction as he endured proper suplexes, lariats, clotheslines, power bombs, and bulldogs from the instructors. He was battered but relatively unscathed, selling the moves as he landed on his back and hips. He had endured more impacts than anyone else and came out with the fewest marks on him, all while not even getting to his own moves as the focus was on power moves that weren't his specialty. The fact that his moves weren't being worked on shouldn't have been a surprise, they were doing that the next day as it was split up into the groupings: grappling, power moves, aerial techniques, and submissions. With Matt now part of their training, aerial techniques were going to be emphasized more since they would have to endure them in their matches with Matt and in the GCW at some point. The next day was the most fun Matt had n the ring as a professional. He could spread his wings in the ring and unleash his best moves and put the other guys to shame, with the ladies getting a big workout alongside him as they endured the same moves only with the added benefit of enduring his own quick reactions and being unfazed by the fact that he was grappling with women. Tanya and Anya shared sly grins that Matt had to return back, it was bringing back memories of portraying "Ara?a" in the rings when he faced off against them. The guys joked that Matt could be one of the women if they ever needed a replacement for a match, to which he shot an angry look while the ladies added, "You shouldn't be jealous that he could pull off a match with us and take a loss without it bruising his ego. None of you could pull off wearing our outfits but if you want to try I'm sure Nancy could happily help you get into our two-piece singlets." The crew and trainers all burst into laughter while the ladies went back and forth over colors and which of their outfits would fit them best. Matt gave Tanya and Anya a look of, "Don't even think about it" which they returned with a smile. They wouldn't betray his secret, but at some point, he had to tell the ladies that he had performed as "Ara?a" for a few months before retiring as the character. Matt performed more aerial stunts that day than he had in the previous year combined, causing his arms and legs to ache while his ankles felt like jelly by the end of the day. He was able to walk, but it was a pain. He needed to take some aspirin to relieve some of the swelling and pain, with him telling the guys that it was just an anti-inflammatory dosage not a, "Make everything feel better" dosage that they had been getting but it still got a look of anger at him being a hypocrite for taking the stuff. It took an hour for the tablets to kick in, which he spent talking with the ladies as the guys lost interest in him once they saw he wasn't going to argue with them over the medicine. The ladies were interested in him as he was different than the other guys, he wasn't interested in them the same way while he also treated them as equals instead of beneath them and undeserving of a job there. He was simply acting as he always did, but outside of the two that knew him none of them believed it. Matt didn't have a match that weekend but helped prepare the ladies for their matches. He went with them to the small arena, driving on his own while the ladies carpooled. It was tough but he managed to get Betty and the kids to stay home, he didn't want them to drive two hours just to see him sitting down. The ladies unwound and joked around until one of them became sick from the lunch the NEW crew gave them. She had an allergic reaction causing her to need to go to the hospital, putting one of the matches in jeopardy as there was nobody to replace her. The local, "Enhancement talent" wasn't of the best quality putting them into desperation mode as the producers tried to rework matches. Matt looked at Tanya and Anya smiling and gasped in shock. He watched as the two got up, walked over to the producers, and whispered into their ears while glancing at Matt. He knew what they were telling the producers, he was making his NEW debut- only as a woman, not as a man. He sighed, got up, and asked if they had the spare singlet. The ladies pointed at his mother who had the spare and an emergency bodysuit ready to go. She then handed him a generic mask, one used by ladies hired for the night to keep their identities secret so they weren't seen as associated with the NEW. He was taken to the bathroom and stripped, putting on everything while blushing as his mother handed him falsies to put on his chest. He was in and out in 10 minutes, with the ladies helping put his hair into a bun that was hidden under the mask. He looked so convincing that the ones who didn't know about his past wrestling as "Ara?a" being caught off guard by his ability to look like a woman. Tanya and Anya asked Matt if he was "Dawn Rae" again or if he was going by "Ara?a." He told them firmly, "It's 'Dawn Rae' 'Ara?a' is still active so it wouldn't be right to reclaim the name. Besides, it sounds better to use a clear ring name than to make the crowd believe I'm a new character. This is a one-off match, we will work to fix the scripts in time for the next taping if need be." The ladies walked out to where the producers were furiously rewriting the script for the night, getting caught off guard by, "Dawn Rae" appearing and Matt being nowhere in sight. "Dawn" told them that they had better have a plan if the lady she was replacing wasn't back soon. She went over the timings and moves expected then adjusted certain sequences to allow for her moves and rest periods, giving the lady she was wresting more time and making it look like "Dawn" wasn't that good. "Dawn" had the initial match of the night, wrestling a younger lady and making a good show of it as she got used to the cheering crowds that were 4x time size of the largest crowds she had wrestled in front of before. She was being groomed as a babyface but had a lot of work to do to get herself over in the eyes of fans. "Dawn" worked with her and pulled some dirty tricks that were able to get the crowd to turn on her while giving her opponent support and eventually, acceptance as "Dawn" finally lost. She pulled out every dirty trick that could be done: eye gouging, back rakes, refusing to break a hold on the ropes before the count of five, and pulling the singlet to get better leverage in near pins. "Dawn" had the crowd booing her and hadn't even needed to resort to weapons, she was a natural as a heel and after the second attempt to break the rules was on the verge of getting cups and snacks tossed at her. It was what she needed, the babyface was set up for her finisher and won the match, the crowd gave her a standing ovation that was followed by laughter as "Dawn" pleaded that she kicked out of the count. Back in the locker room, "Dawn" quickly disappeared while Matt emerged. He had to endure a lot of ribbing from the guys over his wrestling and losing to a woman, to which he happily asked, "You could do it next time. I'm sure the ladies wouldn't mind carrying you guys for a match the way you have to carry one another. If you ever bothered to watch their matches it's clear who the better wrestlers are." He wasn't joking, the guys were good personalities in the ring but their actual wrestling was lazy and often dangerous to one another. They were so used to having things their way that it didn't matter what they were told, they would revert to being their own people and play things by ear. He knew which of them could be good in the GCW but being King's guys or not, most would burn out after their initial push and be back in the indies for the rest of their careers. He watched the guys in action beside his mother and asked her why she just so happened to have the singlet and bodysuit ready to go. She grinned and confessed, "We've used the local talent a bit too much so I thought with you here it might be better to have someone that knew the ladies and earned their trust in the ring with them. It was a dirty move, but we felt it was better to be safe than sorry and I knew that you were going to put the ladies over a lot more than anyone else could." He nodded in understanding, it was from the heart and the logic as sound- basically, it was something he couldn't argue against. He didn't dwell on it as he had to take action when one of the wrestlers badly botched a move that resulted in the two getting hurt from the impact. One broke his arm while the other landed badly on his neck, the two writhing in pain and needing Dr. Simpson to respond. He helped the medics immobilize the more serious one then assessed his reactions and saw that he was going to need surgery and likely be out of action for a year if he was lucky. It was his own fault, he was out of position and should have accepted the maneuver but instead tried to make it look good by adding some flair that caused the momentum that put him on his back to dissipate. He landed hard on his arm and left it bent the wrong way, but was lucky that he didn't fully land on his neck or worse- his head. The other wrestler was in pain but otherwise OK. He wasn't at fault but he should have switched to a less-intense move as soon as he saw his opponent wasn't in the right position. He thought he could still perform the original move but miscalculated it, resulting in the hard crash and getting knocked out by the impact and dealing with a concussion and a separated shoulder. Matt knew that his first match had moved up by several weeks, unfortunately for him it was going to be that night as he was needed to replace one of the two injured wrestlers in a tag team match. He brought along his ring gear just in case he was needed, he already had his boots on but he wasn't expecting to be in action yet. He was approached by the match's producer, told to get dressed, then talked with both his new partner and his opponents to set up the match. It took a half hour, but the main event match finally happened. Matt debuted to a rousing cheer, which was belied by the fact that he was teamed with a heel. It was played off as him being forced to join the match out of respect for his "patient," working the match as a favor to the NEW instead of as a normal wrestler who wasn't ready to perform yet. The match went back and forth, Matt wrestled the two babyfaces and worked hard to get them over but struggled as the crowd was split. His teammate was forced to intervene and put on his act on Matt as he ripped him off of their opponents as Matt was trying to pin them then go for it himself. The more they wrestled, the more over Matt got over with the fans. He tried to help his teammate in tough spots but was refused, then himself refused to help his teammate cheat to win. When Matt refused to knock down the other team and allow his to score the win, his teammate snapped and went after him causing the two to lose while Matt fought back and performed his high flying finisher on him as the show drew to a close with fans going wild over the memorable ending. The injuries were as expected, one suffered a broken arm while the other suffered a concussion and a separated shoulder. Both would be out of action for a while, one for six months while the other for six weeks. It meant that Matt would have to fill-in for a while until the two returned from their injuries and the storylines continued as originally planned. The next night was a repeat, this time his teammate walked off instead of taking the ring with Matt. He was stuck in a handicap match, to which he worked hard but it was in a losing effort as the two were stronger than him alone. He made it look convincing to the fans, going so far as to struggle to continue on while he kicked out of being pinned. The whole situation was working in Matt's favor as he was inserted into a storyline where his tag team partner and he were now in a feud where it would build-up to the seasonal "take On" event before the major GCW pay per view. He was given a couple of singles matches to build his character while he got fans to start caring about his lovable new guy with a big heart. His background as a medical doctor was played up for the fans, Matt refused to use it as a gimmick as it would cheapen his actual usage if there was an issue that he needed to assist on making every action look like a work instead of real. His matches weren't that big of a deal, he won them handily thanks to his increasing popularity and the locals loving that, "One of them" was doing so well in NEW. The guys who lost were guys who were on the outs with NEW for not developing as characters and not really contributing much if anything to the events. They were jobbers at that point but doing better with NEW than on the independent circuit so were content to accept losing as the pay was better and for less days working. The actual storyline building took place in a studio in front of a smaller crowd, with the matches taped for gradual upload onto the GCW's streaming service. Matt's character was slow to get a reaction from the crowd but as he wrestled more matches they were supporting him against the opponents and by the end of the first block of tapings, Matt was a crowd favorite. His interviews were shown in-between the matches and got the needed hype for him, with the crowd enjoying seeing another side of Matt. At home, Taylor enjoyed a lot of attention from the boys while Betty eased into being the caring wife to the budding superstar. The couple hadn't had trouble since Betty started to talk with Dr. Acula, with the two actually getting closer as a result. Taylor knew that at some point she would have to talk with Vlad about the situation, but until then she kept up the lovable wife role in their relationship. The ladies had issues with their colleague who got sick. Her reaction wasn't what they thought, it turns out that she was actually pregnant and wouldn't have known for a few more weeks. They tried to get "Dawn" to replace her on the roster but Matt refused, citing taking a job away from an actual woman. He suggested actually going out and getting someone who could do the job, "Ara?a" would be a good choice if they could get her there. It would require some finagling with contracts and involve Matt and a lawyer but it was doable, especially as she was exactly like him in style. There was some back and forth negotiations and arguing, but eventually NEW agreed to hire "Ara?a" in the interim with an eye towards having her be part of them full-time in the future. As the one who actually owned the character, Matt's lawyer drew up a contract that gave him 15% of her pay but allowed her to keep her merchandise money. If she was good enough to be moved up to the main roster she'd have to pay him an annual fee. The kicker was it wouldn't matter, if she was going to be called up she would have to change her name and likely alter her mask and tights so the GCW was the owner of the new character while Matt retained the old character for use by another woman. Matt met her and talked with her about "Ara?a" and how she was had been doing on her own. He knew more about the character than anyone else, leading her to suspect something was going on. He smiled and happily told her, "'Dawn Rae' is a character I play for the companies when they needed a woman to wrestle on short notice. Since I'm the same size as most of the ladies I can pass easily. You have been doing the character that I created out of need and have done a fine job on your own. You have also kept your end of the agreement and paid me to license the name and likeness, so there's no bad blood here." Negotiations went back and forth with all parties agreeing to the deals. She looked at her contract and smiled, seeing what Matt knew and thanking him for being kind enough to not take advantage of her. he shot back, "It's on you to earn that spot. 'Ara?a' is a character, you are the person driving her. She is only as good as you and if you perform well enough and get the needed heat or pop you will do well." Ara?a worked with the NEW trainers and found herself enjoying the cerebral side of wrestling, it was a vastly different animal from what she had been used to in the FWA and over in Japan. Matt was quick to show her what worked best and how to adjust her moves to allow her for the ladies' various sizes. It took a week but by the end of it, Ara?a was at a level where she could compete with the ladies. Matt worked with his counterparts and formed a bond with the two babyfaces that he had wrestled in his first match. They had different personalities, yet were complimentary to Matt's personality. He kept his home life separate from his work life so Betty and the kids were never talked about, but he did see that they were family men who enjoyed their jobs too much to settle down in their old hometowns. The trio worked multiple matches as a trio but held off all attempts to make them a stable, doing so was refused by the duo while Matt felt that they deserve their own spotlight. They were instead teamed up with another wrestler, one who was struggling and who got a boost from the stable while Matt got his push done without sharing the spotlight with anyone. He didn't mean to do it but he set himself up to be the arbiter and idea guy among the wrestlers, basically reverting to his old pre- wrestling ways. Matt started to get recognized as he went about town, often signing autographs and taking pictures with fans while doing shopping or eating in a restaurant. He knew that it was part of being a wrestler, but it was a weird feeling for him as fame wasn't what he wanted from being a wrestler. He tried to sign as many autographs as possible but it soon became clear that he needed to do something about the fans. He talked with Betty, who joked that Taylor should do the shopping instead of him. He groaned but it made sense. Taylor would shop while doing her best to go unnoticed by anyone. It was tough to do, she was a good looking woman when she got finished with her makeup and picked an appropriate outfit. Taylor felt scared as she went shopping for the first time, but nothing happened. The fact that she had a wedding ring scared a lot of potential suitors off while other men were simply gentlemen towards her. Once she lost her initial anxiety, she felt liberated and able to shop without any fears. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she was herself and didn't have a care in the world. When she returned home, Betty kissed her deeply and told her that she was proud of her for being strong. She was right, Taylor was strong if she allowed herself to be strong. The ladies at NEW asked about Matt's sudden change, he told them that he had a good night and had a chance to relax. Most let it go, but Tanya and Anya pushed further. He took them off to a private spot and told them, "I went out dressed as my other self. I couldn't deal with the fans hounding me so my wife suggested that I dress as a woman. It felt great! I haven't felt like that in a long time, not since I went with the GCW ladies to the spa years ago." Matt couldn't dwell on the great time he had going out as Taylor because he had to get to work on the final storyline to his feud. The waiting game was the hardest part, as it required some reshoots and a few more matches to set up the order of events but it wasn't anything that Matt hadn't expected from the NEW now that he had been in it for several months. He was kept busy working on how to improve the fringe wrestlers and was struggling to get them to where they needed to be to be retained, sadly for them it was impossible and once their storylines were finished they were quietly released by the NEW. The build-up to the "Take On" event was hectic. Dozens of promos were being shot at multiple places across the NEW campus with the crews stretched thin requiring all hands to help with the production. Matt was co-opted to act as a producer for the ladies, with the ladies not even batting an eye at the news and actually appreciating him doing the work instead of one of the more "hands-on" producers. The work was fun as Matt encouraged them to be creative in how they acted and made it look both like a promo but also like it was natural conversations between the ladies even if they were trashing each other to make themselves look bigger. Ara?a struggled to get the hang of promos but as Matt worked with her she got better to the point that she didn't need his prompting. The ladies appreciated his ability to understand them and joked that he was a better woman than a guy which got them laughing at him. Matt just smirked and took it to be the ultimate compliment that they could have given him, it was the validation that he was able to be a woman even if he wasn't dressed as one. Tanya and Anya caught his smirk and returned it, letting things move on to other things as they wound down for the day. He stopped the duo and told them happily, "This is turning into a fun time," which they agreed with. Matt had little work to do after that so he was able to unwind for two weeks. He spent it as Taylor, letting out his inner girl. He was happy, which the boys loved as Taylor always made them happy. The fun started when the whole of NEW had to make the trek to the city that the "Take On" event was being held in. Seattle was the lucky location and saw the whole lot traveling across the country to the event, sharing the GCW corporate plane with GCW's executives and staff. Matt tried to go unnoticed but it was tough to do as the ladies were asking about the kids and Betty while Ara?a tried to remain calm about being in the presence of people she had grown up idolizing. Vince Turner smirked as he laid eyes on Matt trying to go unnoticed and pointed at him to come with him to the first class area. Matt walked past the NEW producers and expected the worst, but Vince asked him what was going on with the NEW and why he had been forced to be a woman for them. Matt explained everything that had gone on since he was hired, getting looks of anger followed by laughs as he explained the exact reason for him performing as "Dawn Rae" while losing it when he not only helped two of his colleagues but ended up taking one's place in the storyline. He was honest, telling Vince that he was six months too far ahead of where he should have been had they not screwed up, according to the producers. Vince shook his head in disappointment, then countered, "You were ahead of the others. You may lack the experience in-ring, but you have what they don't: a mind for wrestling. You are gifted in being able to do multiple roles for us. Hell, you probably do more work than anyone else and are the lowest paid of the talent. We owe you money for your 'Dawn Rae' work, that was brilliant and your mother is a sneaky little weasel. I swear you got your brains from her. No offense to your father, but it's clear to all just who you are taking after especially in your looks." The two talked about the show and the changes that were coming afterward. Matt wasn't close to even looking at one of the titles, but he was a centerpiece talent for NEW that would work each of the, "Take On" events. He was put in the middle of the show as the buffer between the opener and the main event, it was a critical match as it kept the crowd interested and built them up for the main event. The plane landed and the crew went to work setting up the ring and stage. The wrestlers were sent off to their hotel and worked to get ready for the publicity tour then their matches. Matt called Betty and the boys and relaxed as she eased his mind and got him to see that he was doing a good job already. The publicity was long and boring, with lots of questions from the media and dirtsheets but little drama from anyone. Matt had to fight off complaints that he was too green and other wrestlers who had been in the NEW for a year or more deserved his push, he simply told them that he was happy to be there and disliked that someone got hurt allowing him to take their place. His response was perfect as there was no way to follow-up the question without looking bad nor could the interviewer make much out of his reaction as he had it covered perfectly and came off better. The ladies went out celebrating, dragging Matt along to be their escort as well as the designated driver. He was the best choice for them, he had no intention of bedding them and would ensure they got back to their hotel rooms in one piece. He loved the night out, even if he was in guy- mode he was one of them. The next day, the real fun began for them as they met their GCW counterparts and endured more of the GCW's publicity machine, especially their charity arm. Matt had to run for cover as some of the guys who once teased him and put him through the wringer as a kid were looking for him. When they finally caught up with him they were different this time, Matt wasn't a kid- Matt was one of them. They treated him like an old friend, reminiscing about past exploits of Matt and them while recalling his failures as a producer. Matt laughed at some ideas, they were simply a kid's dreams for them. He was glad that some were taken seriously, but his earliest ones were hilariously embarrassing. The group had fun, with Matt talking about some of the things he did in IoH and FWA while on his rise to the NEW before getting his big break. His old friend Impossible's injury caused them to cringe, but it was handled better than any of them would have handled it. Hell, any of them even dreaming about a change in outcome for a title match would ensure the wrath of King Reign before the cont of 3 ended. The "Take On" event was fun for all, especially Matt. He was performing in front of the largest crowd that he ever had performed in front of before and doing so with the crowd cheering his name. He was in the zone and hit his marks each time, carrying the match for his winded and struggling opponent. Matt couldn't do his normal finale, his opponent was getting too sloppy as his strength waned requiring him to have to abort three of his turnbuckle moves. His substitution of them for a tiger feint kick, a German suplex that led to a quick roll-up pin attempt, then a frankensteiner into the corner led him to scrap a pin and go for a submission. His opponent obliged, letting him hit his Muta Lock and got a big cheer as he went from a pin attempt directly into the Muta Lock without much chance of release. Matt went to the locker room with a scowl, his opponent was setting him up for a fall but it didn't come as Vince was already there and asked him firmly, "No-selling?" Matt growled, "He's trying to play it off as him being winded. Bull crap. He no-sold everything. I slapped the lock on him too fast to get out of winning it the way we were supposed to. He's going to claim I went off script, but I wasn't going to break my ribs. He was setting up to nail them with his knees when he hit his finisher." Vince didn't say another word, signaled to his executive director, watched the replay, then told Matt that he was right and his call was the smart play. When his opponent came in, he was told that he was going to be suspended for a month for breaking script and going into business for himself. Vince then added an angry, "You ever go off script again and try to hurt another wrestler I'll personally break your legs." King Reign chose that moment to enter and smirked at Matt. King gloated that the shrimp finally got what he deserved, to which Vince shot him a laughing, "So the true mastermind shows his face. It didn't work, he spotted it right away. Matt here saved that clown from a broken neck, since you were focused on him you ignored that he knows his moves better than you ever will. Don't you ever try to pull this stunt again. I don't care what you have against him, he's turning out to be more valuable to us than you are. You are the boss but are still an employee of this company. Do it again and you are fired. That was well over the line and I'm not going to let you hurt my company because you need to act like you are some tough guy to everyone. Hell, he's done more for us than you have. All of the things that you have taken credit for with our wrestlers? Those were his ideas, put into use by our producers while you sat back and tried to make it seem like it was all you. None of your ideas have been used. NEW wasn't your baby, you were just the face of it. It's his baby and he will get his recognition." Turning to Matt, Vince grinned and told him, "You have outgrown the NEW. We need a high-flier and a new babyface. You are exactly what we need. There's no point in keeping you where you aren't going to do much more than flounder as the others use you instead of utilizing you. Your dream is coming true. Welcome to Global Championship Wrestling, Matt Simpson."