The Brotherhood overview

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THE BROTHERHOOD

Members: Anton Rayge, Joey Jackson, Marcus Gaines, Jakob Grimes, Johnny Storm
Leader:  Anton Rayge
Fed:  Gladiator Wrestling Association
Championships Held:  Olympic Championship, Legion Tag Team Championships, and Gladiator Championship

RELATIONSHIP TO STORM

Anton Rayge had been doing everything he could to win championship gold within the GWA, but kept coming up short, and that's when he decided that he needed a little help.  Employing the aide of "The Eagle" Joey Jackson and Marcus Gaines, the three went on to form the stable known as The Brotherhood.  With cohorts in tow, Anton quickly snatched up the Olympic Championship, while Jackson and Gaines earned the Legion Tag straps.  Their sudden success, along with their gang like tactics, drew the attention of the Gladiator Champion at the time, "Mr. Fantastic" Johnny Storm.  Storm, always liking to have an ace up his sleeve, used his relationship with Jakob Grimes to manipulate the unstable monster into attacking The Brotherhood.  Anton, however, saw the attack as a sign of recognition, and decided to take The Brotherhood's game to a new level by further antagonizing the Gladiator Champion with a series of match interruptions and backstage attacks.

This Eventually lead to a tag team match with Jakob Grimes and Johnny Storm vying for the Legion Tag Team Championships against Gaines and Jackson, but a swerve was in the works that no one in the audience expected.  Before the match could take place, Anton took to the ring with mic in hand, and called an end to hostilities.  Claiming that The Brotherhood had the numbers game, and that if you couldn't beat them, then you should join them.  To the shock and dismay of the GWA crowd, Storm agreed, and shook Anton's hand in the middle of the ring.

After being booed out of the arena, Storm quickly directed the group into a conflict with other members of the roster that appeared to be threatening the Gladiator Champion.  The brutal attacks went on for a few weeks, before culminating in an eight man tag match between The Brotherhood consisting of Anton Rayge, Joey Jackson, Marcus Gaines, and Jakob Grimes versus the GWA stand outs, Griff Truxel, Alek Cage, Sebastian Bock, and Odyssey.  The match started out with the usual excitement that the GWA fans had come to expect for the product, but no one could have predicted by the end of it, there would be a blood bath.  The Brotherhood worked as a cohesive unit, taking out the former associates of Storms, Griff Truxel and Alek Cage, and focusing their attention on a beat down of Sebastian Bock and Odyssey.  The GWA faithful, however, staged a massive come back, and just when it looked like The Brotherhood might be on the ropes, "War Machine' by KISS hit the arena speakers and out came the man himself, Johnny Storm.  Rushing to the ring with Gladiator Championship in tow, he slid under the bottom rope, popped up right in front of Sebastian Bock with the belt locked and loaded, and then brought it crashing down into Anton Rayge's face instead. 

The crowd was stunned.  The announcers were stunned.  But more importantly, The Brotherhood was stunned.  Storm gave Bock his Cheshire like grin, and the two stared over the body of Anton Rayge at the other three members of The Brotherhood.  Marcus Gaines and Joey Jackson, over their momentary surprise, appeared like they were just about ready to pounce on the turncoat and his new lacky, when they were steam rolled from behind by Jakob Grimes.  DOUBLE SWERVE!  After an ultraviolent beat down of the three original Brotherhood members, and the odd man out in this scenario, Odyssey, the team of Johnny Storm, Jakob Grimes, Sebastian Bock, Griff Truxel, and Alek Cage stood triumphant in the ring under the moniker of The Methods of Violence.

Over the next several weeks of GWA TV, The Brotherhood and Methods of Violence would play a game of oneupsmanship, each backstage attack and interference being more violent and disturbing than the other.  It was so gruesome that the GWA staff, who mostly encouraged these types of things, actually became concerned that this was going too far.  Finally, with the GWA's annual PPV, To The Max, coming around the bend, the GWA brass signed a match between Johnny Storm and Anton Rayge for The Gladiator Championship with the men's respective team mates barred from ringside.  The match was an epic encounter, and although many fans were behind Anton coming into the contest as an underdog, Johnny Storm went on to show why he was the performer of the year, when he defeated Anton clean in the ring.

After this crushing defeat, The Brotherhood disbanded, each man going it alone.  Many of them would end up in matches with Johnny Storm, or in feuds with his cohorts like Sebastian Bock of Jakob Grimes, but never again did they find the comradeship of what they thought was their time to shine.  Soon after this, without any other stables to contend with, Storm disbanded the Methods of Violence by having Jakob Grime destroy the other three members.