Matt Engarde

Two years prior to his trial, Engarde dated his manager Celeste Inpax. Adrian Andrews, who would later became Engarde's manager, described them as being happy. However, he broke up with Inpax one day. Later, he learned that his rival Juan Corrida was planning to marry her. Knowing that it would hurt Corrida deeply, Engarde confessed to his fierce rival that he had dated her first. Corrida called off the marriage; heartbroken again, Celeste Inpax hung herself, allegedly leaving a suicide note that was hidden by the man who found her body, Juan Corrida.

For the remaining years, the two men continued their rivalry with Engarde rising to the top of his acting career. Engarde gained a reputation for being "refreshing like a spring breeze", besting Corrida in popularity polls. This culminated in Engarde's starring role in The Nickel Samurai, which competed with Corrida's show Jammin' Ninja. Corrida, however, conspired with Andrews, who became Engarde's manager, to disclose the suicide note, which Corrida had actually forged, that would destroy that image. During the Hero of Heroes Grand Prix at Gatewater Imperial Hotel, which the Nickel Samurai won, Corrida arranged a press conference, during which he would appear in the Nickel Samurai costume and reveal the false suicide note. Realizing that Corrida was a threat to his reputation, Engarde purchased spy cameras to keep close tabs on him and eventually hired a professional assassin named Shelly de Killer to kill him for the bear figurine that contained Inpax's suicide note. Engarde recorded the killing to use as a way to blackmail de Killer. De Killer posed as Engarde's butler and as a bellboy at the hotel where Corrida was murdered to ward off suspicion.