MYŌJIN takes heavy breaths, holding an ice pack to the back of their head as they slowly but surely walk toward the tables and chairs of the backstage conference. The Shining Star hugging the X-Factor Championship to their shoulder as they go to finally sit down, grimacing ever so slightly while sitting their championship on the table. The flashing and clicking of cameras are easily heard as they finally pick up the microphone.

MYŌJIN: ...So, I remember hearing a lot of people saying before Unbreakable Resolution that this was going to be my hardest challenge yet. A lot of fans, management, even some on the Edge thought that this was going to be it for my title reign. I've got to admit, I was even feeling worried now and then.

The pained look on the blonde's face fades ever so slightly, replaced with smug satisfaction and triumph as they pick up their strap and raise it above their head while a grin appears on their androgynous features.

MYŌJIN: ...Then as usual, I proved everyone wrong. As usual, I defy what's expected. As USUAL, I prevail when I'm least expected to. If no one believed in my reign, I just beat supposedly the most dominant Warrior Rising Champion in the history of this company- not that it means much. Not only that? I now officially have more successful defenses than Indy Darling, the only X-Factor Champion before me that mattered. And sooner than later? I'll be eclipsing the days of his reign too. When I said I was going to be the greatest person to hold this belt, I meant it. Cassy-boy thinks he's the scariest incel ever in existence and tonight? Well...

Their grin only grew wider as they then draped their golden belt across their shoulder once more while sitting the ice pack against the table.

MYŌJIN: I also just proved to the entire world that he's barely more than smoke and mirrors. Talk about a letdown, here I was expecting the greatest fight of my life as he kept saying I was going to have- This wasn't even close to the two Iron Man matches I survived, the Bloodbath match I fell about who knows how many feet in, or the deathmatch I had two years ago. Did you get nervous, Cass? Have any performance issues? It's okay, sweetie, sometimes that happens. I can tell how flustered you got afterward, considering you left me with a little gift.

Pointing toward the side of their head, MYŌJIN's teasing demeanor went away as a tense glare entered their piercing eyes.

MYŌJIN: I can already hear it now. The next time you open your mouth, you're going to say something like “It WaS NeVer AbOuT WiNnInG tHe BeLt, iT WaS AbOuT SeNdiNg a MesSaGe" or "I sTiLl GoT ThE LaSt LaUgh”- Whatever helps you sleep at night, hun. It'll never change the fact that I- ME out of anyone, gave you your first real loss. I laid you the fuck out and pinned you for a three count. And I know that stings because you were SO sure that you were going to leave as a double champion, SO sure that I wasn't ready for you, SO sure that you had my number- But then reality kicked in. And you, like the twenty-one wrestlers who lost to me before you soon learned that I'm the Heart and Soul of this place for a reason. Things may always change, people come and go, but me? I'm a constant.

MYŌJIN: Tonight you showed everyone what you really are. A little child that has a temper tantrum whenever something doesn't go your way. You act like you're above everyone else, but really? You're just like every narcissistic little bitch that I've run through. But that's okay. Earn another title shot at me, I might even give you another shot for free if I feel nice. Try your luck again, it'll end the same way but let me make something perfectly clear: I always pay receipts back. Until then? Have fun living with that you can dominate the Warrior Rising division as much as you want, but you just don't compare to me.

MYOJIN then feels the side of their head where they had been hit with a chair. They pull their hand away, a slightly surprised but humored expression.

MYŌJIN: Won't you look at that? I'm not even bleeding. Doesn't even seem like you can swing a chair right, huh, Cassy?

And with that, the Shining Star winked at the camera before tossing the ice pack away and picking up their title. They press a passionate kiss to the reflective main plate of the belt before walking off.

Various reporters gather around a podium, prominently emblazoned with the Project: Honor logo on its front. Based on the media availability schedule, they're expecting to hear from the now former Legacy Champion, the Los Angeles Outlaw, Syndicate - Lord knows that everyone wants to hear his thoughts regarding his crushing loss to the Butcher of Reine, Ozymandias.

A man walks out from the left side of the makeshift stage and takes his spot behind the lectern...but it's not Syndicate. Instead, wearing a pressed gray suit and matching tie, and with his short brown hair gelled back, this is JJ Kline, Syndicate's agent, manager, and at this point, one of his only friends left. An air of disappointment emanates from Kline as he reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a piece of paper - a prepared statement.

JJ KLINE: The Los Angeles Outlaw, Syndicate, will not be answering questions regarding his loss to Ozymandias at this time. Please direct any and all inquiries to SportsMax headquarters in Los Angeles, where I will respond to them personally. Thank you.

Nodding, JJ folds the paper up and attempts to take his leave, but a gaggle of media push their way towards them, with one reporter's voice, in particular, sticking out.

REPORTER: Mr. Kline, can you comment on what Syndicate's future is, now that he's no longer a champion here in Project: Honor and was unable to defend his title a single time?

JJ Kline stops in his tracks, turns to the reporter, and glares at them.

JJ KLINE: Syndicate's got a lot of explaining to do - to you, to his True Society "buddies"...and to the people that he hurt along the way.

With a look of pure frustration present on the manager's face, he pushes through the media members and exits the press conference room.

Tara has a smirk on her face as she enters from the left side of the room. Several of the flashes from the cameras are going off as she proceeds to her seat and she gives a gentle wave before finally arriving, and takes a seat. She scoots the chair forward and surveys the sea of reporters that have filled the room.

TARA FENIX: Tonight, I sent a clear message to Kurtis Slayne in the early-going of this match when I popped his shoulder out. Yes, you can applaud his effort for being able to pop it back in and continue the match... real gutsy move, but what did it do for you? Really? What did you accomplish with that? The next time that any of those Project: Underground rookies want to come forward for a reality check--

Tara raises her hand and beckons them toward her in a less-flamboyant gesture while cocking her head to the side.

TARA FENIX: I'll be more than happy to send you packing.

She let out a snorted laugh under her breath and licked her lips.

TARA FENIX: As far as the rest of the show goes, I'm going to go ahead and extend a congratulations to MYŌJIN on their successful defense; I am going to extend a congratulations to Emmanuelle on her victory as the new Grand Champion...and I'm going to also go ahead and warn her not to get too comfortable, because I love you, but I've already got two victories over you and I'm going to be coming for that third...very...very...soon. The last person that I would like to extend a congratulations to is Ozy; I wish you had kept the Grand Championship long enough for me to take it away from you, but now I guess I'm going to have to settle for the Legacy.

Tara stalls momentarily. She presses her hand against herself as if she were visibly ill, and clears her throat. It was only for the briefest of moments, but she is able to regain her own composure.

TARA FENIX: I'm coming for what's mine.

She finished her statement and pushed the chair back. She exits the same way she came in.

Emmanuelle walks into the frame of the picture as she emerges onto the stage set up for the press conference, her newly won championship belt draped over her shoulder as she settles down in a chair set up at a table with an ice chest full of ice cold beers. She grabs one out and opens it up, gulping it down was the cameras flash and the media director overseeing the press conference begins to speak.

Media Director: We'll open up with a statement from the winner and Sixth recognized holder of the Grand Championship, Emmanuelle. Miss Emmanuelle, please start whenever you're ready and we'll open things up for questions from the press.

With an exasperated, bored expression, Emmy takes a big gulp of the beer she had opened up, even taking a moment to light up a cigar that had been provided to her while an assistant to the media director displays her newly won Grand Championship. She starts blowing off smoke, completely ignoring a request from security to put out the cigar before deciding to speak.

Emmanuelle: How long has it been? It's been less than a year since I signed with Project: Honor and made my way to the Proving Ground brand. This title, the Grand Championship, has gone through the hands of many men. Dickie Watson, Ozymandias, Arata Asakura, Mark Hunter. Now it's in the hands of it's first female holder. I stared off barely being booked, struggling to find my footing as Warrior Rising Champion, losing that title in the Tokyo Dome. A lot of people didn't think I even deserved to be in the company, much less be it's standard bearer. People with Twitter Fingers always popped off on me even though I've proven myself as a perfectly capable titleholder. What can they say now? What can anyone say? In less than a year, I've gone from wrestling in pointless tag matches and preliminary bouts to holding the top title in this company. IN ONE. FUCKING. YEAR. Think about that. Wrestling Arata again....I wouldn't lie when I said that this was about more than just the title. I hate the son of a bitch. I hope he rots in hell whenever he dies. I think he's one of the most reprehensible pieces of shit walking the planet. That said, he's a hell of a wrestler and it took everything I had to beat him. None of you people will ever know what it feels like to wrestle with everything against him, lose, and watch him go sit on a throne that you were working so hard to claim. Losing my Shogun title hurt me, but that loss broke me. I could barely sleep at night anymore. But I didn't give up, I didn't lose my mind. I'm here as a champion now...no, the champion. Questions?

Reporter: Hello, I'm Brock Jensen from The Lantern, Ohio State University's student newspaper. What do you think is the difference between winning this match and the Grand Championship compared to winning the Warrior Rising Championship a few months ago against Scott Oasis?

Emmanuelle: Well, the Warrior Rising Championship was an opportunity I relished and was eager to pounce on after kinda just scuffling around. It was a chance to let people know that i was somebody, that I was someone who could compete at a high level. Plus beating someone as revered as Scott Oasis, even though he was more of a part-time guy here, made my day. Even so, that was more business than personal. This match was a lot more personal for a lot of reasons. Plus it was for the biggest championship in wrestling. Winning it means more than...just about anything I've done in my career so far.

Reporter: Clyde Burrow, The Columbus Dispatch. Congratulations on your victory. Emmy, there was a moment at the end of your match where you pulled the tights of Asakura to score the three count and even then it appears he may have actually kicked out before the pinfall. Are you expecting a review of this decision and do you think that it presents a good look for the Grand Championship that you obtained it through such controversial means? 

Emmy looks towards the reporter with an annoyed expression and silence, the awkward moment actually drawing some laughter from the press members present as she smokes a little more on her cigar, propping her feet up on the table. 

Emmanuelle: Who fucking cares if it was a "good look"? I did what I needed to do to get my hand raised. If they want to try to hold the belt up later, I don't give a shit. I'll win it back again. Why? Because Asakura's someone that I have the playbook on. He's clumsy, relies on his Golden Dragon too much, and he's full of himself. So if someone wants to complain and have the ref go back on his decision, so be it. Isn't the new guy in charge still here? Where's he at? He didn't seem all that worried when Arata started activating his special effects, hell nobody else did! 

Emmy jokingly looks around for the recently revealed director of operations, Adam Ekaterin, gazing out into the press and drawing another bit of laughter from the small group present.

Emmanuelle: Anybody see Adam out there? No? No? Well, my answer to you is this: if it was that egregious, that blatant, that reprehensible, he would have come out there and stripped me of the title on the spot, right? Isn't it always 'referee's decisions are final'? That's that. Arata can challenge for this belt anytime he wants to. The outcome will always be the same because, guess what, Arata's a fucking moron who can't adapt! 

Emmanuelle takes another drag and puff of her cigar as she waits for more questions.

Reporter: Cynthia Boutte, New Orleans Times-Picayune. Louisiana wrestling fans are familiar with your connection to Carlos Rosso as you're one of his most famous students. Do you feel like this championship puts you any closer to mirroring the accomplishments of your mentor? 

Emmanuelle: Nope. 

She takes a swig of her beer as the press laughs again, her blunt answer combined with her stone-faced expression coming off as comical if not sarcastic to some.

Emmanuelle: The guy won fourteen world championships. JUST world championships, in singles. That's not counting regional belts, tag titles, anything like that. I've only won three belts total, not all of them even recognized world championships. I've never been a tag champion. I've still got a long way to go before I'm even in that ballpark so...nah. I feel like this is a step in the right direction. One of my goals this year is to be a quadruple titleholder, something that he pulled off in his heyday. I saw the picture of him holding four belts in the dojo every day when I went to train. I want him to be able to put my picture up next to his and be able to tell anybody, no matter where they come from, "This scrawny ass girl from the Palisades, a hostess and fucking accountant, managed to do it. What's your damn excuse?" That's the extent of the legacy I want to leave. 

Media Director: We have time for one more and we'll have to leave it there. Um....you in the back, yes sir. You. 

Reporter: Jared Pataki, Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Congratulations on your victory and best of luck to you going forward. With that in mind, what is your vision for the Grand Championship? It has a very hectic and competitive history and the reigns have trended on the short end. With all the amazing talent on hand, veterans and a rising new generation, how do you feel about your chances going forward and do you have any specific goals in mind? 

Emmanuelle puts out her cigar as she thinks about the question for a few moments, for the first time during the conference sounding a little unsure about what to say.

Emmanuelle: Well....I do know that there are two things I want to do immediately: I want to break the defense record, I think that's three...and I want to hold the days held record. I want to completely reshape this title in my image. By that, I mean I want people to look at this match and understand what it represents. I don't know why, but it always feels like this championship is on the back burner. I don't see people rating the titlists holding it at the top spot of their power rankings, and it seems like the Legacy Championship means more to people than this title. My goal is to change that. My goal is to make this title the undisputed top championship in all of wrestling, full fucking stop. Not just Project: Honor, professional wrestling. Second, I want to do something that I did with the Shogun Championship in WrestleWorld: take it outside of the promotion to defend it. I've already defended titles all over the world, but I would love to take it somewhere and defend it in "hostile territory". One final thing is that I want to fuse this title with my essence, my idea of what wrestling should look like. I want this title and the title matches that come with it to take on my identity. When you see it on the little match graphics at home and the arena, you know what you're getting: Athleticism, Drama, Flair, Passion, Intensity. That's what I want the Grand Championship to represent. 

Emmanuelle gets up, obviously tired from her match but still full of her trademark swagger as she scoops up her newly won title.

Emmanuelle: There's a lot of top names out there who could come for this. Myo, my friend. Ozy of course. Swindle. So many people just on Proving Ground. There's three matches I'm looking forward to having at some point. I want Ozymandias, crazy as that sounds. He got fucked out of this belt and if it weren't for that I might not be holding it now. It would only be fair if he comes calling. Arata's number two. I always held a grudge with the WrestleWorld office that I was never granted rematch, let alone an immediate one, for a belt that I dominantly held for as long as I did there. I get his reign was just a couple of weeks, but as much as I hate him I want to extend him that courtesy. Third....Tara. 

Emmy pauses a bit for dramatic effect, cupping her chin in her hand as if she's lost in thought, her eyes seemingly dulled with a bit of disappointment. 

Emmanuelle: I was expecting her to come out and immediately challenge me for this belt. Maybe she'll yack about it on Twitter later. (Sighs) I'm actually disappointed about it, but it seems like she has more important things on her mind right now. Then again, maybe she should just go fuck off on Fallout for a while, build the drama for our match. I would love to break the defense record against her of all people. Maybe she could sweeten the pot and become Legacy Champion and then come back to Proving Ground.

Emmy starts to walk away from the stage, but turns back towards the press with a smirk on her face, a mischievous gleam in her eye.

Emmanuelle: What kind of awesome would it be for both of us to be toting some gold into that match, huh? Winner take all sounds pretty awesome if you ask me...

Emmy turns away from the reporters again, walking off towards the locker room.