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Post by Shaun Hart on Jan 30, 2023 19:14:59 GMT
( Liam Cain Looks to continue his winning streak toward the K2S Ladder match but the red-hot fan favorite Max Stone stands in his way as he looks to build more momentum towards his UK Championship match with Fred Debonair.)
Match Six
Standard Singles Match
Liam Cain vs Max Stone
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Post by Max Stone on Feb 11, 2023 2:18:18 GMT
EVERYBODY HURTS
1967 LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY
We find ourselves in front of a simple CHURCH in the late evening time. Parked cars surround the church building. We make our way inside to see FRANTIC TOWNSFOLK in a fit. A man wearing a suit and slicked back jet black hair stands before the rowdy crowd. REVEREND BOYD begins to speak in a thick southern drawl.
Reverend Boyd: May I please have your attention, everyone. Please be seated.
The commotion comes to a halt and everyone takes their seats.
Reverend Boyd: I appreciate each and every one of you for being here this evening. Thank you for taking the time that could have otherwise been spent with your families in the comfort of your own home. It warms my heart to see everyone united to preserve the very SOUL of our family, friends, and neighbors.
A dark cloud is on its very way here to rain SIN down upon our beautiful community.
A dark cloud that brings a storm of VIOLENCE.
The townsfolk GASP.
Reverend Boyd: Something is coming here to our town that one can only describe as a BARBARIC DISPLAY of… of….
A BARBARIC DISPLAY OF PORNOGRAPHY!!
MORE GASPS. A grandmother in the front row FAINTS.
Reverend Boyd: If that idea terrifies you and shakes you to your core, then you must stand with your fellow community members and say NO to this filth entering our neighborhood! Mr and Mrs. Norris?
A MARRIED COUPLE sits with their children in the third row of pews.
Reverend Boyd: Look at the Norris family here. A picture perfect family. Now Mr. and Mrs. Norris have done everything to make sure little Keith and Emily walk the righteous path. They get straight A's in school and they're right here in this very church each and every Sunday morning.
The children smile but the parents aren't really sure where the Reverend is going with this.
Reverend Boyd: We must fight for families like the Norris family! If those malcontents have their way, children all over the great city of Lexington… heck… children ALL OVER AMERICA will be nothing but…
Nothing but…
SATAN WORSHIPERS!!
Nothing but…
REEFER SMOKERS!!!
EVEN MORE GASPS. How can we allow this to happen?!
Reverend Boyd: Ladies and gentlemen of the congregation, this is why we must walk side by side down over down to our pavilion and let them know that WE DON'T WANT THEM HERE.
We don't want violence in our town!!
We don't want debauchery!!
We don't want evil!!
We don't want….
PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING!!
CUT TO: The congregation is surrounding a BUILDING and yelling at PRO WRESTLING FANS as they approach. They start chanting in unison.
Congregation (all yelling in sync): WE DONT WAN'T WRESTLING! WE DONT WAN'T WRESTLING!
Reverend Boyd (yelling): GET OUT OF OUR TOWN, YOU SAVAGES!!
1986 A LIGHT UP SIGN outside the RUPP ARENA advertises live professional wrestling tonight. Fans walk up to the ticket booth but their attention is quickly captured by a large group of people nearby.
Reverend Boyd (into a bullhorn): YOU ARE BUYING A TICKET TO SIN!! TODAY IT'S A TICKET TO PRO-FESS-IONAL WRESTLING BUT TOMOMORROW IT'S A TICKET TO THE BURNING FIRE OF HELL!!
1999
A late night RELIGIOUS INFOMERCIAL plays on a TV set. A much older Reverend Boyd now with slicked back silver hair stands on a stage with a microphone.
Reverend Boyd: I've been saying it for over 30 years now and nobody wanted to listen to old Reverend Boyd!
Reverend Boyd picks up a NEWSPAPER from a nearby table. He pulls out his reading glasses and places them on his face.
Reverend Boyd: "An Oak Grove sixth grader has been expelled from Weaver Elementary school for telling his teacher to perform an act of a SEX-U-AL NATURE. The boy pro-ceeded to spit on the teacher, climb a desk and kick the teacher in the face!"
The crowd GASPS. The end times are here!
Reverend Boyd: "The boy stated that he should not be in trouble because he learned it from… PRO-FESS-IONAL WRESTLING!!" Mmmmmm hmmmmmm.
2006
We're back in the Rupp Arena at an Honorable Wrestling Alliance show. World Champion MAX STONE has just scored a pinfall victory and the crowd goes crazy. At the very top of an arena is a fan who cheered so hard that the sunglasses he was using to disguise himself fell off of his face. Reverend Boyd rushes to put them back on before anyone notices.
FEBRUARY 3RD, 2023
A feeble old Reverend Boyd lays in a hospital bed in his home. He's watching the Seige Perilous match from IIW Combat and looks to be enjoying himself when he's not suffering from long bouts of coughing. We see a woman outside talking to a tall guy and can barely make out what she's saying. Something like:
Woman: He'll be really happy you're here. Thank you so much for coming all this way.
The tall man nods and walks into the room and we can now see that it's Max Stone.
Max: If it isn't my number one fan!
Reverend Boyd: Max Stone! What on Earth are you doing here?
Max: I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd see how you were doing.
That was a lie. He wasn't in the neighborhood. In fact, he was about 3,700 miles outside of the neighborhood when he got the call that Reverend Boyd was in his dying days.
Reverend Boyd: I've been seeing you here.
The Reverend points to the T.V.
Reverend Boyd: You've been doing good since you've come back.
Max: I appreciate it, Reverend.
Max takes a seat in a chair and briefly winces in pain as he makes contact. The Reverend notices and goes to speak but Max starts to talk first.
Max: Y'know… it still cracks me up that you spent most of your life preaching against wrestling and you ended up one of the most passionate fans out there.
Max had always chalked it up to being the right kind of hero at the right time. A hero where even someone as vehemently opposed to the fundamental idea of professional wrestling such as Reverend Boyd could see the light and stand in the cheering section.
Max: And I suppose that if you haven't told me how that came to be after 17 years of me asking then you ain't ever gonna shine some light on that mystery.
Reverend Boyd: Why start now, right?
They both laugh. Max once again reacts to some pain he's feeling in his lower back.
Reverend Boyd: You look like you're in pain.
Max: Nah, I'm fine.
It had been a few days now since Mayhem in Dublin where Max unleashed some pent up aggression on Bam Miller in a hardcore match where Max, potentially unwisely, turned back the clock and pulled off wrestling moves that you don't usually see someone his age do. Not many 43 year olds are forward flipping off ladders, hitting Canadian Destroyers, and flying off the top of cars into other humans. That's a young man's game and for that Max is now paying the price as he half-assedly tries to convince a dying old man that he's doing just fine. Sensing that Max would rather not talk about it, the Reverend changes the subject.
Reverend Boyd: So what are you going to do about Mecca? I can see that you are determined to do away with them.
Max: Now that I've helped get everyone on the same page, we hit those bastards back harder than they hit us. They declared war and I'm gonna make damn sure we win it.
Reverend Boyd: So you're gonna hit Fred Debonair back?
Max: Yes. I'm going to make him regret the choices he's made by taking the UK Championship off of him. These guys place much value on their material trophies.
Reverend Boyd: Didn't you kind of start it with Fred though? I remember you coming out and holding his belt in the air.
Max: For someone who spent most of his life telling people that wrestling is Satan's work, you sure have all the details in order.
They both laugh but it launches the Reverend into another coughing spell. Max feels kind of bad for getting him going like that. He stops coughing and begins to speak again.
Reverend Boyd: I have some advice for you. I spent a long long time crusading against things. Wrestling, hippies, Sesame Street, rap music and Pokémons too. Don't make some of the same mistakes I did and let your crusade get the best of you. There's no doubt in my mind that these Meccas deserve what's coming to them but you don't want to find yourself consumed by the very thing you're trying to put a stop to. Take time to find the light in your every day life or else you'll find yourself lying in a hospital bed wishing you had more of it.
Max smiles but doesn't quite know what to say. The advice seems sound and he feels appreciative of it. They continue to have a conversation that we cannot hear.
We catch up with Max later as he's driving down a vast and open country road. There's just a couple of hours of sunlight in the day and
Max is not feeling quite right about things.
Maybe it's the pain from flying off a ladder. Maybe it's the jet lag from the long and spontaneous flight back to the States from Dublin. Max reaches into the passenger seat and picks up a DIGITAL VOICE RECORDER and presses a button.
Max (into recorder): Hello. A friend a long time ago told me that I should keep one of these handy when I'm on a long car ride in case I want to keep a record of things that I'd probably forget later. I did it a few times… and then forgot about it so maybe we can give it another shot here.
Max continues to speak into the recorder. It could have been that jet lag, it could have been those Mayhem brawls, or maybe it was that he just spent some time with a dying man who he knows he was seeing for the final time.
Max (into recorder): I'm going to board a plane tomorrow for Germany and then I think it's time to seriously consider getting a home in Europe. Flying back and forth every couple of weeks is kind of draining and I figure I should spend more time in the U.K. if I plan on representing it as its champion.
Perhaps it's these country roads that he's traveling down. The same types of roads he drove up and down when he was on top of the world and adored by legions of fans in the towns that these roads led to. These roads are a far cry from the urban sprawl of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area that Max had spent the vast majority of his time in during his hiatus from the big leagues. As beautiful as these trees and open roads are, they're nothing compared to the lush green hills Max had hoped to spend more time enjoying while in Ireland.
Max (into recorder): I've actually never been to Germany so I'm pretty excited about that. I never really thought I would have another opportunity to travel abroad again so I'm definitely thankful for everything I've been afforded lately.
Max is starting to bore himself with the small talk. In the back of his mind he's dreading another long flight with his back in the condition it's in. A part of him wishes he hadn't made the long trip all the way to Kentucky but he had felt a responsibility to a long time fan. He supposes this is the kind of stuff you do when you're in the hero business. Max notices a large ranch off to his left and can't help but keep shifting his eyes to it.
Max: Now that's a nice ranch. I think I could be happy living on a ranch like that. It kind of reminds me of the one Liam Cain has. How can someone live on a beautiful ranch like that and seemingly be so grumpy all the time? Six months away not getting beat up every night riding horses and barbecuing. That sounds like paradise. I guess anything sounds good compared to sitting in LA traffic all the time though.
Max is starting to feel frustrated with himself as he looks for more to say about his upcoming opponent but is struggling to come up with the words. A grumpy guy on a ranch? That's all he's got?
The setting sun catches Max's eye and he pulls down the visor to cover it up.
Max: Jesus Christ. What was I saying? Sorry… I'm uh… I gotta pull over.
Max pulls over to the side of the road. He's breathing heavily and finds himself sweating.
Maybe it's the pain in his body from trying to be an acrobat.
Maybe it's the jet lag from all the transatlantic trips catching up to him.
Maybe it's the dying man he will never see again.
Maybe it's frustration from not being on top of of his game.
Maybe it's the anger he's allowed to build up inside of him since The Mecca has come together.
Maybe it's the nostalgia he's feeling from thinking about the glory days of years past and the pressure he's facing to outdo himself.
Maybe it's…
Maybe….
Max loses consciousness and his head hits the steering wheel. Everything turns to WHITE.
Max WAKES UP in a dark room. He kicks blankets off of him and vigorously pulls apart curtains covering the window revealing that he's in a HOTEL ROOM. He does not recognize this place and looks confused.
Max: Where the hell am I?
Max stops to try to collect himself.
Max (to himself): I was driving. Kentucky. I uh… started to feel dizzy… FUCK! AM I DEAD?
Wait, I pulled over the car.
I didn't crash.
I fell asleep.
….Am I dead?
Max frantically paces around this hotel room as thousands of thoughts rapidly race around in his mind until something catches his eye: papers on a table. He picks up what appears to be a room service menu and notices it's not in English!
Max: German?
He walks over to the other side of the room and sees some hotel information pamphlets and from there he can deduce that he's in Berlin. He runs his hands through his hair and wonders how this could be until he makes eye contact with himself in the mirror.
Max: You? You did this?
Now he's angry. The Maniac violated their agreement of control and there must now be hell to pay. Max heads into the bathroom and turns on the sink to splash water on his face. It is here he notices his voice recorder resting on top of a sheet of paper with the words "PLAY ME" written on it. Max takes the recorder in the other room and sits down on the bed and presses PLAY.
Maniac: Before you get angry, just realize that I had to step in to help you out. You were crashing and I needed to make sure we got to Berlin because we have work to do. Now that you're listening to this, I can only assume you're now well rested and ready to take on the challenges we must take on. As of the time of recording, the pain in our back has subsided and the body is rejuvenated and ready to go.
Max wiggles around. What do you know? He feels fine.
Maniac: We're going to go out there and do what we do best and give the Berlin crowd something to cheer for. Something to be proud of. And we will do that by defeating Liam Cain. Now Liam may not be one of the little piggies we're going to send "wee wee wee all the way home" but that doesn't mean that we will take it easy on him, right? We fight who is put in front of us and Liam Cain is no different from all the rest.
Max stands up and starts looking through the room service menu as he continues to listen to his alter ego speak.
Maniac: Liam Cain recently came back after a six month absence. Another one of many who have come back to the IIW since the Stone Age began. It's no coincidence that we've walked into this company and pushed the envelope so far that guys like Liam Cain and Justin York have come back in because they simply want to exist in our stratosphere. Our rising tide has lifted all the ships and Liam Cain couldn't help but feel like he left at the wrong time when something so powerful was on the horizon.
Thank God this menu has pictures because Max has no idea what these German words are. He decides on something to eat.
Maniac: Liam Cain has stepped back in at a time of war and it appears he hasn't chosen a side. He's got some history here and one would think that he would want to fight to protect that. He'll tell anyone who has ears about the titles that he used to hold but from where I'm sitting, the only gold Liam's got around that waist of his is a fancy cowboy belt buckle. Regardless of where Liam decides to place his allegiances, we will have no choice but to treat him like the enemy when we face him one on one. Liam Cain will hit us and we will hit back harder. With every punch we land and every move we hit, Liam will wish he was back on his beautiful sprawling farm enjoying the great outdoors instead of being violently thrown around by Max Stone.
Max has probably heard enough as he shuts off the recorder and picks up the phone on the nightstand.
Max: Uhh… hello. Room service?
Max laughs.
Max: Oh, you speak English! In that case I'd like to order…
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