Post by Zero on Apr 25, 2013 13:19:49 GMT -5
[This week’s scene fades in on Tuesday April 23rd as the audience is filing in to the stands of the final MPW house show before Ruthless Assault. A ladder is already stood up in the center of the ring. Many fans eager for a night of entertainment wonder why it’s already there. As the venues house lights dim out, the theme song of TNT began to blast through the small auditoriums worn out sounding PA system. The crowd pops as TNT ring announcer Thomas Simon emerges through the curtain and begins to walk down the aisle. The look on his face shows that he’s just as curious about the ladder as everyone else.]
Young boy: Maybe he’s gonna announce a ladder match!
[The young boy yells to his father who’s sitting with him in the sixth row of bleachers…Simon walks up the steps of the ring and between the ropes. He can’t stand in the center because of the ladder, still eyeing it inquisitively as he stands alongside it. He looks out at the crowd after a beat with a warm smile, bringing the mic to hips mouth.]
TS: Ladies and gentlemen welcome to Millennium Pro Wrestling! My name is Thomas Simon; I’ll be acting as almost a host as well as your play by play commentator, calling tonight’s action! We are here in Mobile, Alabama are I am happy to say that I believe there will be an outstanding show tonight! Now…I’m sure everyone here is wondering what this ladder is doing in the middle of the ring…Well fans I must say that I’m just as stumped as you are. I have no idea whatsoev-…
[Thomas is interrupted as “Reborn” by Damageplan begins to blare through the speakers. The crowd bursts into cheers once again as Shaun Cross appears from behind the curtain now. He’s dressed in his regular street clothes (although for once wearing an MPW t-shirt instead of one with the logo of a favorite band). He walks down the aisle with a mic in his hand and a somewhat cocky smirk on his face. He climbs into the ring and extends his hand to the (seemingly appalled) Thomas Simon. Simon shrugs and shakes Shaun’s hand before moving around the ladder to the other side of the ring. Shaun looks up toward the top of the ladder, before back out at the fans with a nod. He raises the microphone to his mouth and takes a breath…The fans ruckus dies down almost instantly; clamoring to hear what he has to say after the tussle he was involved in last week. Shaun chuckles a bit to himself lowering the mic. He puts it handle-first in his back pocket and climbs the ladder, sitting on top facing the crowd. Taking the mic from his pocket he raises it to his mouth again.]
SC: I’m terribly sorry to so rudely interrupt you Thomas…But I figured I’d maybe appease everyone’s curiosity before we got too far into the evening…Now… I've never been the most eloquent speaker on the planet, so what I try to say normally is kept pretty simple. I've been on this chase for the TV title for some number of months… I've won matches and I've lost matches, getting so close to that belt that I could taste it…Every time coming up just shy of getting my hand raised…And by God isn’t THAT the worst feeling in the world? I've repeatedly become insanely close to accomplishing the biggest achievement in my career…Only to watch it slip ever so slyly away. But I’m not sitting up here tonight to complain, I’m not here in a pissy mood due to my recent string of less than fortunate luck, I’m not bitter about the matches I’ve come up short in, the better man one each of them…Either my head wasn’t all there and I was thinking about something other than the match…Or maybe I was too confident and got sloppy? Or maybe on those nights, I just plain sucked. No matter the either’s, no matter the or’s, what’s done is done. Those matches that fell out of reach, I can’t go pick them back up…But…Lucas King, Taufik, Tyler Rose…And Jason X…Believe me you when I say that I played countless games of “King of the Mountain” in my days as a child on the playground…And no one ever knocked me down.
[The crowd pops again. As they’re cheering, Shaun puts the mic back in his back pocket and climbs about halfway down the ladder, hopping off the rest of the way down. He spins around, facing the other side of the ring, out toward the other wall of packed bleachers. He grabs the top rope and steps up onto the bottom rope, bouncing a bit, grinning. Using one hand, he grabs the microphone, raising it to his mouth to speak again.]
Lucas King…You haven’t been here very long and I haven’t done enough of my homework to know much about you at all, but I will say “you’re welcome”…Looked like you were gonna be in for a long, unpleasant night if I hadn’t poked my nose in everyone’s business. I even went so far as to help your ass up off the canvas…
[Shaun scoffs]
Only be dropped like a sack of goddamn bricks…I gotta say, I’m impressed by your tenacity, Ace…You seem like you could be a real go-getter…But then again I thought the same about Dynamo Crunch…We’ll see this Thursday, huh? Hmm…Taufik…I’ll be completely honest with you here my friends, I have no inkling as to why Taufik is being allowed to compete in this match…Yeah he was TV champion for a month or so last year but…Doesn’t it seem like the higher ups here at MPW just played a game of eenie-meenie-miney-moe trying to find a fifth person for Ruthless Assault? Taufik…I enjoyed a couple minutes of the spat you had with Ian…Shit, for this match it must’ve been quite the tossup between you and…Oh I dunno…Terrin Reign?
[Shaun chuckles again, again moving to another side of the ring, this time facing the curtain that heads backstage. He takes a few loud sniffs and contorts his face all up as if something smells really bad before looking back out at the audience.]
Phew is it just me, or does anyone else smell a yeast infection…I think Tyler Rose is in the building…
[He smirks again as the crowd gives off a mixture of cheers, laughs, and boo’s. From one very small section of the crowd he hears a chant that makes him laugh out loud.]
Fans: Rose has herpes! [Clap, clap, clap clap clap] Rose has herpes! [Clap, clap, clap clap clap]
[Shaun’s eyes scan the building for the source of the chant, finding a couple of teenagers down in the front row, very close to the guard rail. He points to them; a grin appears on his face.]
SC: You two are my favorite guys here…That is incredible…
[The rest of the crowd laughs, slowly but surely almost everyone joins in. Shaun stands in the same place for a moment, letting the crowd continue for a few rounds of the chant.]
Okay…Now in all seriousness…Tyler…Playboy I think you should be happy I haven’t called you by your alter ego in a few weeks. Last week you showed the world that you’re quite the sly fox aren’t you? Sneakin’ your way down into the ring after Lucas and Jason had their match...Only to tuck that tail between your legs and get outta there in a big hurry when you heard my name…I thought you were better than me, Rose? I thought I was inferior? Hell, you HAVE beaten me once…What had you so scared when my music hit? Was it the ladder? …Yeah, bet it was the ladder…I hope you can keep your head on your shoulders on the 25th, Playboy…I’d hate to see you run off on a night you actually have to face me…I’d also find it fuckin’ hilarious, so either one would be perfectly fine by me…So…I think before I start getting too redundant, I’ll just say this: See you on the 25th, Rose…Lets write the final episode of this little soap opera of ours huh?
[Shaun starts to climb between the ropes to the apron before pausing, quickly stepping back in, next to the ladder.]
Well golly gee I almost forgot...Jason Xavier…You ran off too, didn’t you? Jesus if I’d known that a ladder could be that scary, I’d carry it to the ring every night…Jason it’s time that the star burns out, yeah? You lost the belt at Road to Glory, how’ve you done at getting it back since? You’re not the sun, you’re not THE star we need to see constantly…Now, the only thing I really have against you Jason is…You dropped the belt to Tyler fucking Rose…You’re better than that…Then again, you haven’t got it back from him so…
[Shaun shrugs, before laughing a bit once again.]
I guess I should wrap up this little rendezvous before I hurt someone’s feelings or something…Ya know…What a trip it’s been, this goose chase for the TV title…It’s been fun, but I look forward to looking down at all four of you gentlemen from the top of the mountain. See you Thursday…
[Shaun puts the mic back in his pocket and folds up the ladder. He sets it down outside of the ring and climbs out onto the floor. Shaun picks up the ladder and carries it backstage the same way he carried it to ringside the week prior. The scene fades out.
The next scene starts up almost immediately after the main event of the house show. Audience members are slowly filing out of the auditorium building back through the parking lot to find their cars in the dark. Shaun is one of the few people left in the men’s locker room, getting changed and ready to take off back to the hotel for the night. A quick knock raps on the door and a (rather large) head pokes in. It’s a member of the auditoriums security group, Jim.]
Jim: Cross, some guy’s out here, he says he knows you...
SC: In Alabama? …Alright, let him in…
[Shaun nods as the door opens wider, Jim holds it open. In walks Leon Adams, the retired professional wrestler that Shaun met in Jackson, Mississippi.]
LA: Goddamn Mr. Cross, you have some impressive mic skills…
[Shaun is happy and very surprised to see Leon at this show, not having seen him since their meeting in Jackson, though keeping in touch since. He jumps up off the bench he’d been sitting on and shakes Leon’s hand enthusiastically.]
SC: Leon, my man, how the hell are ya!?
LA: Oh not bad, not bad at all, figured I’d make the trip out to see you in your last match before the pay-per-view. You looked pretty solid out there.
SC: Thanks a bunch, it’s great to see you again…What is it, like a four hour drive to get here? Damn…
LA: Yeah, give or take…Three and a half to four…Helluva show though, I’m glad I talked myself into it!
SC: Yeah it was excellent; everything worked really well considering it was just a house show in a dingy auditorium…
LA: I’d say, everyone seemed like they really fed off this smaller crowd tonight...
[Shaun nods again before motioning toward the door behind Leon; they continue to talk as they leave the locker room. The ring crew is taking apart the ring and hauling it back to the truck as they enter the auditorium.]
So how’s everything up in Maine? Still got foots of snow?
SC: Nah, everything’s good, snow’s melting and the ice is almost completely out of the lake in Topsfield…Pretty soon, any down time I get will be spent out there…
LA: That’s cool, shit maybe I’ll REALLY take a road trip and trek up north sometime…
SC: Well I’d be happy to have you…But first it’s off to North Carolina…We’re leaving for there tomorrow…
LA: Is that where Ruthless Assault is gonna be? Hell, don’t be expectin’ to see my mug up there Thursday. I’ll rent it quietly from the comfort of my couch and get a good seat.
SC: Don’t blame you a bit there, Leon…Best seat in the house, most certainly.
LA: Oh you bet…Hey Shaun, I needed to ask you a question…That promo you cut tonight, was that acting were those your real thoughts…? You seemed pretty keen on really ripping on those guys tonight…I gotta say the references to Dynamo and Terrin Reign were kinda clever though…Makin' people think a bit, I see?
[Shaun and Leon walk for a moment, Shaun laughs a bit, before really thinking hard about his answer. The two of them sit down on the first row of bleachers.]
SC: …Well my friend, there aren’t any screaming fans or TV cameras around so I guess…I guess I’ll tell it like it is. Lucas King and Taufik, I really have no beef with…What I said out there was just to “stir the turd” and get the crowd all riled up before the big event, and get a few chuckles out of ‘em if possible…Shit I hardly knew who Lucas King was until I walked to the ring last week…And Taufik, I’ve had nothing to do with him since I got here…But until and since the little feud he had with Ian Andrews…What’s been going for him?
[Shaun shrugs with a bit of a nod, making a face as if to say “see what I mean?”]
But no, a lot of that was all in good fun…I really am excited as fuck for this match.
LA: …And…? Rose? Xavier? What about them…?
SC: Leon…Jason and Tyler are the two guys I’ve worked with the most in my time in MPW…I have to say, I do respect Jason quite a bit. He’s said some pretty colorful things about me, but shit, who hasn’t? He’s a great in-ring performer and the mic seems to love him…Now…Tyler, I honestly cannot stand…Most of the time, he reminds me of that bratty five year old that you see in the grocery store ya know? They’re screeching and holding their breath begging for Cap’n Crunch and all their mother can do is run away like “He’s not mine, I swear!” I can’t deny his in-ring ability though…He sure can dish it out and take it…But he’s got that fuckin’ attitude that’d make a freight-train take a dirt road.
[Leon stands up, chuckling a bit.]
LA: I see, yeah he does seem to have his head pretty far up his ass…Hey man, it looks like they’re wanting to close up the building…I should be headin’ back to catch some z’s anyways…
[Shaun follows Leon’s lead and stands up as well. He lifts his leg a bit and rotates his ankle, it pops loudly.]
SC: Hmm foot was asleep…Yeah I need to head back to the hotel too, big day of travel for both of us tomorrow.
[Shaun picks up his duffel bag and slings it over his shoulder before extending his hand to shake Leons.]
Hey it was great seeing you, man, thanks a bunch for making the long ass haul over here.
LA: Oh, dude I had a blast…Tonight was one of the better house shows I’ve been to in a while. I can’t wait for Ruthless Assault; I’ll be rootin’ for ya all the way.
SC: Cool beans my friend…
[The two smile and laugh a bit before parting, going their separate ways as the second scene fades to black.
The third and final scene for this week starts up on April 25th at the Time Warner Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. The camera pans around the (almost) empty arena, a few people are milling around the building, setting up the stage, programming the lights and maybe even wandering around aimlessly pretending to work…The camera eventually finds the ring to show Shaun Cross sitting on the apron with his head down. As the camera moves closer, he picks his head up and looks into it.]
Rose…King…Xavier…Taufik…Tonight’s the night huh boys? All of the talk comes down to this…King of the Mountain. It’s been a helluva road hasn’t it, Tyler...Hasn’t it Jason?
[Shaun begins to speak with heavy, obvious sarcasm in his tone of voice.]
Lucas King and Taufik, you two sure have missed out these past couple months…Trash talk, sneak attacks, and Hell, if memory serves me correctly, there was even a cage match tossed in there.
[Without missing a beat, the sarcasm vanishes, and the mostly easy going Cross gets stone serious.]
But you won’t be missing out tonight, I hate to sound like a broken record and say “this is it” over and over again but…King of the Mountain…Ruthless Assault…This. Is. It. No more trash talk and no more foolishness…There won’t be any clearing the ring and running off scared like there was last week, I hope? There won’t be any missed calls or bad officiating. A championship will either be won or defended, there’s no mistake in that…But…
[Shaun pauses for a moment; a confident smile appears on his face, he looks into the camera with intent.]
Hmm…I’ve never competed in a King of the Mountain match or hell, even anything like it at all, but I’ve certainly watched quite a few since its inception in TNA…Jeff Jarret, Kurt Angle, Raven…All three of these men got their hands raised and a belt around their waist in their very first time competing in such a match…I dunno about the rest of you guys but Raven (at least behind the mic) was the person who really got me interested in getting into this business. Yeah I haven’t done a whole lot in MPW so far, but I’ve been having a blast the entire time I’ve been employed here, I really have. I may not always come out on the winning end of things, but it’s not for lack of trying…I’ve held gold before. I know the rush it gives a person. I’m sure as hell willing to snag this victory and etch my mark in MPW’s title history…And I know I’m able…My mind is in the right place, I’m in the best shape of my career AND I just cannot wait to finally prove myself to everyone in this company…Now…I heard bits and pieces of the interview that Lucas gave earlier today…And hell, I have to agree with him in one respect….Where can I really go if this match doesn’t go as I hope it will? Lately I haven’t had much going for me…I haven’t won my past couple matches, I haven’t captured the TV title in any of my past attempts and I really haven’t done a whole helluva lot in this company since I got here in December…However in my opinion and in my own defense…That certainly doesn’t mean I’m not capable as it seems you may have inclined...I guess I'll just have to show you AND everyone else where I'll be going when I'm climbing that ladder and hanging up that belt...But anywho...
[Shaun swings his legs around to the right and pulls himself up, standing on the apron of the ring. He climbs between the ropes and walks to the center, the camera zooming out a bit.]
Now...Tonight, like any night...Before I walk to that MPW ring, I believe it's always best to walk out clear-minded and focused...I'll be honest with you, MPW Nation, I've got a few things I'd like to get off of my chest this evening...Hmm...I’m not worthy of this match? I don’t have a chance at winning? I’m not championship material? I’m the weakest link? You girls keep piling it on, my skin’s pretty damn thick. I’m a nobody? I’m nothing to worry about? I’m just a wannabe? I’m not a factor in the match? You’re going to beat me so bad I won’t show my face in MPW again? You doubt I’ll even show up? …Okay that last one made me laugh…I might not be the MOST technically skilled, the biggest, the quickest, or hell, maybe not even the best…But I don’t run scared. As I’ve said since it was announced, I’m excited as fuck for this match…Why would I run off? This is my night; this is my chance to prove to everyone in attendance and everyone on this fucking roster that I deserve to be here just as goddamn well as anyone else in this fucking company…If I may quote military general Sun Tzu:
"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win."
…I’ve already won; I’m wrestling in the leading promotion in the world, Millennium Pro Wrestling for a championship belt. That is a colossal win, in my book. King, Taufik, Xavier and Rose, you’re all entering this “war” (so to speak) seeking to win…This implies that you’ll be the ones defeated. Yes, all of you have tasted the gold before this, but those are past “wars”…Think about the present you four…You’re all going into this balls first hoping to win, doing and saying whatever you possibly can conjure up to get your hands raised. I’ve already won…We’ll see you boys tonight…
[The camera slowly pans up and zooms in on the “Ruthless Assault” banner up behind Shaun before slowly fading to black, ending the final scene.]
Young boy: Maybe he’s gonna announce a ladder match!
[The young boy yells to his father who’s sitting with him in the sixth row of bleachers…Simon walks up the steps of the ring and between the ropes. He can’t stand in the center because of the ladder, still eyeing it inquisitively as he stands alongside it. He looks out at the crowd after a beat with a warm smile, bringing the mic to hips mouth.]
TS: Ladies and gentlemen welcome to Millennium Pro Wrestling! My name is Thomas Simon; I’ll be acting as almost a host as well as your play by play commentator, calling tonight’s action! We are here in Mobile, Alabama are I am happy to say that I believe there will be an outstanding show tonight! Now…I’m sure everyone here is wondering what this ladder is doing in the middle of the ring…Well fans I must say that I’m just as stumped as you are. I have no idea whatsoev-…
[Thomas is interrupted as “Reborn” by Damageplan begins to blare through the speakers. The crowd bursts into cheers once again as Shaun Cross appears from behind the curtain now. He’s dressed in his regular street clothes (although for once wearing an MPW t-shirt instead of one with the logo of a favorite band). He walks down the aisle with a mic in his hand and a somewhat cocky smirk on his face. He climbs into the ring and extends his hand to the (seemingly appalled) Thomas Simon. Simon shrugs and shakes Shaun’s hand before moving around the ladder to the other side of the ring. Shaun looks up toward the top of the ladder, before back out at the fans with a nod. He raises the microphone to his mouth and takes a breath…The fans ruckus dies down almost instantly; clamoring to hear what he has to say after the tussle he was involved in last week. Shaun chuckles a bit to himself lowering the mic. He puts it handle-first in his back pocket and climbs the ladder, sitting on top facing the crowd. Taking the mic from his pocket he raises it to his mouth again.]
SC: I’m terribly sorry to so rudely interrupt you Thomas…But I figured I’d maybe appease everyone’s curiosity before we got too far into the evening…Now… I've never been the most eloquent speaker on the planet, so what I try to say normally is kept pretty simple. I've been on this chase for the TV title for some number of months… I've won matches and I've lost matches, getting so close to that belt that I could taste it…Every time coming up just shy of getting my hand raised…And by God isn’t THAT the worst feeling in the world? I've repeatedly become insanely close to accomplishing the biggest achievement in my career…Only to watch it slip ever so slyly away. But I’m not sitting up here tonight to complain, I’m not here in a pissy mood due to my recent string of less than fortunate luck, I’m not bitter about the matches I’ve come up short in, the better man one each of them…Either my head wasn’t all there and I was thinking about something other than the match…Or maybe I was too confident and got sloppy? Or maybe on those nights, I just plain sucked. No matter the either’s, no matter the or’s, what’s done is done. Those matches that fell out of reach, I can’t go pick them back up…But…Lucas King, Taufik, Tyler Rose…And Jason X…Believe me you when I say that I played countless games of “King of the Mountain” in my days as a child on the playground…And no one ever knocked me down.
[The crowd pops again. As they’re cheering, Shaun puts the mic back in his back pocket and climbs about halfway down the ladder, hopping off the rest of the way down. He spins around, facing the other side of the ring, out toward the other wall of packed bleachers. He grabs the top rope and steps up onto the bottom rope, bouncing a bit, grinning. Using one hand, he grabs the microphone, raising it to his mouth to speak again.]
Lucas King…You haven’t been here very long and I haven’t done enough of my homework to know much about you at all, but I will say “you’re welcome”…Looked like you were gonna be in for a long, unpleasant night if I hadn’t poked my nose in everyone’s business. I even went so far as to help your ass up off the canvas…
[Shaun scoffs]
Only be dropped like a sack of goddamn bricks…I gotta say, I’m impressed by your tenacity, Ace…You seem like you could be a real go-getter…But then again I thought the same about Dynamo Crunch…We’ll see this Thursday, huh? Hmm…Taufik…I’ll be completely honest with you here my friends, I have no inkling as to why Taufik is being allowed to compete in this match…Yeah he was TV champion for a month or so last year but…Doesn’t it seem like the higher ups here at MPW just played a game of eenie-meenie-miney-moe trying to find a fifth person for Ruthless Assault? Taufik…I enjoyed a couple minutes of the spat you had with Ian…Shit, for this match it must’ve been quite the tossup between you and…Oh I dunno…Terrin Reign?
[Shaun chuckles again, again moving to another side of the ring, this time facing the curtain that heads backstage. He takes a few loud sniffs and contorts his face all up as if something smells really bad before looking back out at the audience.]
Phew is it just me, or does anyone else smell a yeast infection…I think Tyler Rose is in the building…
[He smirks again as the crowd gives off a mixture of cheers, laughs, and boo’s. From one very small section of the crowd he hears a chant that makes him laugh out loud.]
Fans: Rose has herpes! [Clap, clap, clap clap clap] Rose has herpes! [Clap, clap, clap clap clap]
[Shaun’s eyes scan the building for the source of the chant, finding a couple of teenagers down in the front row, very close to the guard rail. He points to them; a grin appears on his face.]
SC: You two are my favorite guys here…That is incredible…
[The rest of the crowd laughs, slowly but surely almost everyone joins in. Shaun stands in the same place for a moment, letting the crowd continue for a few rounds of the chant.]
Okay…Now in all seriousness…Tyler…Playboy I think you should be happy I haven’t called you by your alter ego in a few weeks. Last week you showed the world that you’re quite the sly fox aren’t you? Sneakin’ your way down into the ring after Lucas and Jason had their match...Only to tuck that tail between your legs and get outta there in a big hurry when you heard my name…I thought you were better than me, Rose? I thought I was inferior? Hell, you HAVE beaten me once…What had you so scared when my music hit? Was it the ladder? …Yeah, bet it was the ladder…I hope you can keep your head on your shoulders on the 25th, Playboy…I’d hate to see you run off on a night you actually have to face me…I’d also find it fuckin’ hilarious, so either one would be perfectly fine by me…So…I think before I start getting too redundant, I’ll just say this: See you on the 25th, Rose…Lets write the final episode of this little soap opera of ours huh?
[Shaun starts to climb between the ropes to the apron before pausing, quickly stepping back in, next to the ladder.]
Well golly gee I almost forgot...Jason Xavier…You ran off too, didn’t you? Jesus if I’d known that a ladder could be that scary, I’d carry it to the ring every night…Jason it’s time that the star burns out, yeah? You lost the belt at Road to Glory, how’ve you done at getting it back since? You’re not the sun, you’re not THE star we need to see constantly…Now, the only thing I really have against you Jason is…You dropped the belt to Tyler fucking Rose…You’re better than that…Then again, you haven’t got it back from him so…
[Shaun shrugs, before laughing a bit once again.]
I guess I should wrap up this little rendezvous before I hurt someone’s feelings or something…Ya know…What a trip it’s been, this goose chase for the TV title…It’s been fun, but I look forward to looking down at all four of you gentlemen from the top of the mountain. See you Thursday…
[Shaun puts the mic back in his pocket and folds up the ladder. He sets it down outside of the ring and climbs out onto the floor. Shaun picks up the ladder and carries it backstage the same way he carried it to ringside the week prior. The scene fades out.
The next scene starts up almost immediately after the main event of the house show. Audience members are slowly filing out of the auditorium building back through the parking lot to find their cars in the dark. Shaun is one of the few people left in the men’s locker room, getting changed and ready to take off back to the hotel for the night. A quick knock raps on the door and a (rather large) head pokes in. It’s a member of the auditoriums security group, Jim.]
Jim: Cross, some guy’s out here, he says he knows you...
SC: In Alabama? …Alright, let him in…
[Shaun nods as the door opens wider, Jim holds it open. In walks Leon Adams, the retired professional wrestler that Shaun met in Jackson, Mississippi.]
LA: Goddamn Mr. Cross, you have some impressive mic skills…
[Shaun is happy and very surprised to see Leon at this show, not having seen him since their meeting in Jackson, though keeping in touch since. He jumps up off the bench he’d been sitting on and shakes Leon’s hand enthusiastically.]
SC: Leon, my man, how the hell are ya!?
LA: Oh not bad, not bad at all, figured I’d make the trip out to see you in your last match before the pay-per-view. You looked pretty solid out there.
SC: Thanks a bunch, it’s great to see you again…What is it, like a four hour drive to get here? Damn…
LA: Yeah, give or take…Three and a half to four…Helluva show though, I’m glad I talked myself into it!
SC: Yeah it was excellent; everything worked really well considering it was just a house show in a dingy auditorium…
LA: I’d say, everyone seemed like they really fed off this smaller crowd tonight...
[Shaun nods again before motioning toward the door behind Leon; they continue to talk as they leave the locker room. The ring crew is taking apart the ring and hauling it back to the truck as they enter the auditorium.]
So how’s everything up in Maine? Still got foots of snow?
SC: Nah, everything’s good, snow’s melting and the ice is almost completely out of the lake in Topsfield…Pretty soon, any down time I get will be spent out there…
LA: That’s cool, shit maybe I’ll REALLY take a road trip and trek up north sometime…
SC: Well I’d be happy to have you…But first it’s off to North Carolina…We’re leaving for there tomorrow…
LA: Is that where Ruthless Assault is gonna be? Hell, don’t be expectin’ to see my mug up there Thursday. I’ll rent it quietly from the comfort of my couch and get a good seat.
SC: Don’t blame you a bit there, Leon…Best seat in the house, most certainly.
LA: Oh you bet…Hey Shaun, I needed to ask you a question…That promo you cut tonight, was that acting were those your real thoughts…? You seemed pretty keen on really ripping on those guys tonight…I gotta say the references to Dynamo and Terrin Reign were kinda clever though…Makin' people think a bit, I see?
[Shaun and Leon walk for a moment, Shaun laughs a bit, before really thinking hard about his answer. The two of them sit down on the first row of bleachers.]
SC: …Well my friend, there aren’t any screaming fans or TV cameras around so I guess…I guess I’ll tell it like it is. Lucas King and Taufik, I really have no beef with…What I said out there was just to “stir the turd” and get the crowd all riled up before the big event, and get a few chuckles out of ‘em if possible…Shit I hardly knew who Lucas King was until I walked to the ring last week…And Taufik, I’ve had nothing to do with him since I got here…But until and since the little feud he had with Ian Andrews…What’s been going for him?
[Shaun shrugs with a bit of a nod, making a face as if to say “see what I mean?”]
But no, a lot of that was all in good fun…I really am excited as fuck for this match.
LA: …And…? Rose? Xavier? What about them…?
SC: Leon…Jason and Tyler are the two guys I’ve worked with the most in my time in MPW…I have to say, I do respect Jason quite a bit. He’s said some pretty colorful things about me, but shit, who hasn’t? He’s a great in-ring performer and the mic seems to love him…Now…Tyler, I honestly cannot stand…Most of the time, he reminds me of that bratty five year old that you see in the grocery store ya know? They’re screeching and holding their breath begging for Cap’n Crunch and all their mother can do is run away like “He’s not mine, I swear!” I can’t deny his in-ring ability though…He sure can dish it out and take it…But he’s got that fuckin’ attitude that’d make a freight-train take a dirt road.
[Leon stands up, chuckling a bit.]
LA: I see, yeah he does seem to have his head pretty far up his ass…Hey man, it looks like they’re wanting to close up the building…I should be headin’ back to catch some z’s anyways…
[Shaun follows Leon’s lead and stands up as well. He lifts his leg a bit and rotates his ankle, it pops loudly.]
SC: Hmm foot was asleep…Yeah I need to head back to the hotel too, big day of travel for both of us tomorrow.
[Shaun picks up his duffel bag and slings it over his shoulder before extending his hand to shake Leons.]
Hey it was great seeing you, man, thanks a bunch for making the long ass haul over here.
LA: Oh, dude I had a blast…Tonight was one of the better house shows I’ve been to in a while. I can’t wait for Ruthless Assault; I’ll be rootin’ for ya all the way.
SC: Cool beans my friend…
[The two smile and laugh a bit before parting, going their separate ways as the second scene fades to black.
The third and final scene for this week starts up on April 25th at the Time Warner Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. The camera pans around the (almost) empty arena, a few people are milling around the building, setting up the stage, programming the lights and maybe even wandering around aimlessly pretending to work…The camera eventually finds the ring to show Shaun Cross sitting on the apron with his head down. As the camera moves closer, he picks his head up and looks into it.]
Rose…King…Xavier…Taufik…Tonight’s the night huh boys? All of the talk comes down to this…King of the Mountain. It’s been a helluva road hasn’t it, Tyler...Hasn’t it Jason?
[Shaun begins to speak with heavy, obvious sarcasm in his tone of voice.]
Lucas King and Taufik, you two sure have missed out these past couple months…Trash talk, sneak attacks, and Hell, if memory serves me correctly, there was even a cage match tossed in there.
[Without missing a beat, the sarcasm vanishes, and the mostly easy going Cross gets stone serious.]
But you won’t be missing out tonight, I hate to sound like a broken record and say “this is it” over and over again but…King of the Mountain…Ruthless Assault…This. Is. It. No more trash talk and no more foolishness…There won’t be any clearing the ring and running off scared like there was last week, I hope? There won’t be any missed calls or bad officiating. A championship will either be won or defended, there’s no mistake in that…But…
[Shaun pauses for a moment; a confident smile appears on his face, he looks into the camera with intent.]
Hmm…I’ve never competed in a King of the Mountain match or hell, even anything like it at all, but I’ve certainly watched quite a few since its inception in TNA…Jeff Jarret, Kurt Angle, Raven…All three of these men got their hands raised and a belt around their waist in their very first time competing in such a match…I dunno about the rest of you guys but Raven (at least behind the mic) was the person who really got me interested in getting into this business. Yeah I haven’t done a whole lot in MPW so far, but I’ve been having a blast the entire time I’ve been employed here, I really have. I may not always come out on the winning end of things, but it’s not for lack of trying…I’ve held gold before. I know the rush it gives a person. I’m sure as hell willing to snag this victory and etch my mark in MPW’s title history…And I know I’m able…My mind is in the right place, I’m in the best shape of my career AND I just cannot wait to finally prove myself to everyone in this company…Now…I heard bits and pieces of the interview that Lucas gave earlier today…And hell, I have to agree with him in one respect….Where can I really go if this match doesn’t go as I hope it will? Lately I haven’t had much going for me…I haven’t won my past couple matches, I haven’t captured the TV title in any of my past attempts and I really haven’t done a whole helluva lot in this company since I got here in December…However in my opinion and in my own defense…That certainly doesn’t mean I’m not capable as it seems you may have inclined...I guess I'll just have to show you AND everyone else where I'll be going when I'm climbing that ladder and hanging up that belt...But anywho...
[Shaun swings his legs around to the right and pulls himself up, standing on the apron of the ring. He climbs between the ropes and walks to the center, the camera zooming out a bit.]
Now...Tonight, like any night...Before I walk to that MPW ring, I believe it's always best to walk out clear-minded and focused...I'll be honest with you, MPW Nation, I've got a few things I'd like to get off of my chest this evening...Hmm...I’m not worthy of this match? I don’t have a chance at winning? I’m not championship material? I’m the weakest link? You girls keep piling it on, my skin’s pretty damn thick. I’m a nobody? I’m nothing to worry about? I’m just a wannabe? I’m not a factor in the match? You’re going to beat me so bad I won’t show my face in MPW again? You doubt I’ll even show up? …Okay that last one made me laugh…I might not be the MOST technically skilled, the biggest, the quickest, or hell, maybe not even the best…But I don’t run scared. As I’ve said since it was announced, I’m excited as fuck for this match…Why would I run off? This is my night; this is my chance to prove to everyone in attendance and everyone on this fucking roster that I deserve to be here just as goddamn well as anyone else in this fucking company…If I may quote military general Sun Tzu:
"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win."
…I’ve already won; I’m wrestling in the leading promotion in the world, Millennium Pro Wrestling for a championship belt. That is a colossal win, in my book. King, Taufik, Xavier and Rose, you’re all entering this “war” (so to speak) seeking to win…This implies that you’ll be the ones defeated. Yes, all of you have tasted the gold before this, but those are past “wars”…Think about the present you four…You’re all going into this balls first hoping to win, doing and saying whatever you possibly can conjure up to get your hands raised. I’ve already won…We’ll see you boys tonight…
[The camera slowly pans up and zooms in on the “Ruthless Assault” banner up behind Shaun before slowly fading to black, ending the final scene.]