Post by The Brothers Holland on Nov 28, 2010 2:30:48 GMT -6
This isn't about me.
This was never about me.
I'm just the man in your way.
I'm just the man on your throne.
When it's your story...
It's not too surprising that you're the hero.
Unfortunately for you Charlie
You're up against the original Hero.
This is still my story.
And I'm the man in your way.
*We're at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Preparations are made for the big event. People are already queuing up for tickets, some of them look as though they've been camped out for days. About the building, massive posters have been hung depicting the bigger of the matches due to take place this very night.*
*The camera starts making it's way about the posters, gradually moving further and further up the card for Breaking Away.*
Part of me has dreamed of this day for years. I part I only recognised a month or two ago. A part that often kept quiet. Or a part that I at least forced to keep quiet. A part of me that wanted me to succeed. And nto just succeed, but achieve, and be truly rewarded for those achievements. I didn't understand myself as I do now, and I don't think any of us truly understand why we do what we do.
There's always something new to learn. I've defended titles before but never on quite a scale as this. Just look at it all. Look at what nCw has become. Look at just what I represent. Look at just what I have become an avatar for. Each of you can be proud. Every single man and woman on the roster can look at their world and say 'yes, I am a part of that'.
From Williams and Reigns, their feet just in the door fighting on the web show, through my Brother and Will Washington facing off against Harold and Venom. From the womens world title, the x title, the tag titles that I hold so dear to my heart. The grudge matches, the street fight, the display of tactical excellence from Brad and Evan... right up to Charlie and myself heading the whole show off. Every single one of you... be proud.
We are the best. Of that I have absolutely no doubt. Across the board I can't see anything that will disappoint. I see nothing to use as a bathroom break like in some companies shows I've watched in the past. I want to see every minute of it. i want to watch every single moment. I want to bask in the glory that is the finest wrestling in the world. But that will all have to wait until tomorrow.
Tonight... I have more personal obligations to fulfill. I have to put on a show, I have to fight for everything... in a match that simply put, has to top everything the rest of you do.
And can I just say... thanks for making that job so damn hard.
*The sky begins to darken swiftly as we zoom out from the posters showing Charlie Velez looking intimidating in one direction, and Dave Holland doing likewise right back at him. The crowds lining up are no longer to get tickets but to get inside the arena. They're here for Breaking Point. The time is almost upon us.*
I'm glad Charlie. I'm glad it's you I'm facing in my first world title defence. I may have misjudged you in the weeks leading up til now... and in doing so, I think I may have done you a great injustice. I saw you and your path to the title with a great sense of inevitability. As soon as you'd said two words to me at road to the gold I knew this match would happen. Either you would beat me and I would chase you down, or I would beat you and vice versa.
The reason that I'm pleased it's you though... is because of the exact same reason you so desperately fought to get here. You and I both want the same thing. We both want a worthy champion to represent nCw. The only difference between us is just what we deem worthy.
You focus on skill and ability. Something we both have and you have finally admitted I possess. I didn't beat you with luck. I wonder then, if I beat you again... will you consider that I'm better than you? Honestly, I don't know. But I look forward to finding out. I cannot argue though, that a champion has to have skill. Has to have talent. He has to be the best, if he is to properly represent his company.
I on the other hand... I take this as a given. I take it that anyone who is able to claim a world title without having it given to them on a silver platter has to have a great amount of skill and talent. If he's not the best, he wouldn't have even gotten a shot. No. What I focus on, what i truly feel is the number one characteristic a man must have to be champion... he must have the right reasons.
He must be fighting for more than himself. He must be fighting for his company, must be fighting for his legacy. He must be fighting for everyone. And until I watched your last video... I knew you were such a man. And in a way... you were a martyr.
*Dave enters the shot. He stands a distance away from the arena, far enough that none of the fans have spotted him yet. He stands there looking up at the posters of himself and Charlie, an odd little smile on his face. After a few moments taking it in, he begins walking to the arena.*
Because you're fighting for the betterment of the world. You're fighting with the gods honest intention of placing the best man for the job into the job he is best for. Even though you won't be loved, even though you've made yourself out as the villain in your quest to do so. Charlie... I might not like your attitude some of the time... but you are a lot more noble than you let on. Maybe if you showed that side more often then maybe people would start to like you.
It's up to you of course. I'm not telling you how to act, it's not my place at all. But, I dunno. Something in the way you were talking... I think maybe you'd quite like to be liked. Not just for your ability... but for who you are. Regardless, these are considerations for the future.
Right now there's the matter of you and me. You showed me something else with your words Charlie. I wasn't sure until then but now I know. You showed respect. All along you have said I'm a great wrestler but you never said I had your respect. The fact you left me off your list of 'joke champions' was all I needed. As such Charlie, thank you. In that ring, if a shaking of hands is out of the question, fine. But I'll not turn a hand away.
I respect what you do Charlie. I respect why you do it. And should you take my title from me, while I'll be disappointed in myself, while I'll do my damnedest to get back at you and claim it right back, I'll still respect you as champion. Because you'll have had to put a hell of a lot into beating me. You know as well as I do and everyone else that it's no small achievement. One that no one has done yet.
That alone deserves respect.
*We cut away to a house in Wales. It's a small terraced house in the town of Llangollen. The house hasn't been lived in for years it seems. The windows are filthy with dirt, the net curtains coated in dust. The room we're looking at is a bedroom. A double bed takes up most of the room with wardrobes to the side of the room. As you'd imagine the entire place is coated in the general filth of time.*
He doesn't come here often. In his travels about the world he has been to many places. Just this week he would visit what would turn out to be the holy city of Jerusalem. This place though, this is far more personal. Far more meaningful to Dave. This was the house that should have been his home.
This was the house where he should have had all the fond memories of childhood. This was the house where he should have had his slumber parties, where he should have scraped his knees in the back yard. This was the house that was denied him. This was the house that fate decreed he was unworthy of.
He's thought many times on why such a cruel twist would be played on him. As a Christian he found it hard to imagine that if there was a God, why would he allow such things to happen. Over time he came to understand. He came to realise that he was special. Not special like everyone is to someone, but that he was special to the world.
Had he lived in this house, if he had grown up in the home of Megan and Castor Holland he would have become ust like everyone else. He would have had a good job, he might even have become a millionaire. But he certainly wouldn't have become the man he is. And maybe that's why he suffered as he did. Maybe that's why life cast him in this role.
Technically Dave owns this house. He bought it years ago. He never touched it though. He couldn't bring himself to. As much as he hated his childhood it had served a purpose.
And having the place where the alternative could have been... That always reminded him of it.
As he turned from the bed where his mother and father slept about thirty years ago, he knows he needs to relive his life. He knows he must follow his path once more just to remind himself. Just to remember why he's fighting in the end.
He knows just where he has to go next... and he never looks forward to it.
He turns from his home that should have been and goes on his way to his home that was.
*We're back at the Saddledome. Dave is walking through the backstage halls of what has essentially become nCw HQ. Various people are making their last minute preparations for the big show. Cameras and microphones are being checked, pyrotechnics are being tested and fused, lights are having their bulbs replaced and occasionally you can see a wrestler preparing themselves for their match. Some of them nervously pacing, others just marching toward an unknown goal in a straight line. Dave acknowledges those who do likewise to him, but he has a place to be.
He has a match to get ready for.*
So what's going to happen tonight? What's going to go down? Are we looking at a respect filled battle of wills, minds and souls to prove who's best? Or are we looking at what may well be the start of a long and bitter rivalry? Or possibly, both? Everyone knows what I am and what I do, Charlie. You're still a bit of a mystery. And that's something to be quite proud of. After all your time in this wrestling industry you can still surprise people.
But so can I. No one expected me to win the last time, and then I did.
I know why I did last time. I had more drive. I had more reason, more purpose. I wasn't fighting for just myself or my family. I was fighting for everyone. I was fighting for everything. Fate itself guided me, groomed me from a young age towards that moment. Towards being the man you see now. Towards becoming the man everyone loves here in nCw. The man who could do anything and still be a hero to them all... the man who could... and yet doesn't.
*Dave runs into his brother who is already changed into his in-ring gear. The two share a conversation as they continue walking along.*
I never understood why people keep making the dump in a hall reference. Beyond the normal childishness that men can sometimes exhibit. But I think I understand now. You tried to think of what the worst thing you could see is. You thought up the single most disgusting and abhorrent thing I could do is, and you put that idea into the heads of everyone.... including myself. Thanks for that.
But that's not what I think of when I think of the worst thing I could do. No. The worst thing I could do is to turn on my fans. Is to abandon their cause. To stop being who I am. To regret anything I have done in their name for any amount of time. Which means that the worst thing I could do right now, is fail to defend their title. And in doing so, I'm afraid I have to become something you won't like very much at all.
*Dave reaches a door. It has his name on it and also a clear plaque that has his title written on it. Milo pats his shoulder as he walks away, presumably to find Will and get sorted for that bit of fun. Dave just places a hand on the plaque and lets it sink in. He's at a pay per view... and he is the World Champion*
I've held many titles in my time. I've done a lot of things. I've been Hardcore, I've been Extreme. I've been crippled, I've been a general manager of an entire show. I've been a champion on several levels. I've been a Gladiator, I've been a contender, I have been Mister Road to the Gold. I've been a legend, a world champion and in a few places... some even think of me as little more than a myth. That I'm too good to be true. But none of these will even compare to the title you will have for me when I have finished with you.
It's a title that is very much a more personal one. Most people have one person they refer to thus. I don't suppose you even have one right now do you Charlie? What I'm going to become... is the one person in the whole damn world that you just can't beat. I'm going to be the man you both relish and dread facing. The man you will want to chase and hunt down time and again, searching for that first and only victory against them. To say that 'Yes... on that day I was the better man'. I am going to be to you your worst nightmare and your greatest challenge. A man very similar to you in many ways except one.
I will always be better than you. I will always beat you.
*Dave walks through the door and closes it behind him on the camera.*
I am your nemesis.
*We cut to a small room. Tiny. In it are two sets of bunk beds. They're old and they don't look particularly strong. They're covered in graffiti from years of use and abuse from various occupants. At the foot of each bed is a chest for keeping clothes and the like in.*
This was his room. His four walls of sanctuary. At least while he was here he could sleep and rest. He never knew for how long at a time but he would always take as much as he could get before being dragged away for the next punishment. Or maybe the next torture. Or even the next fight.
Fights he could refuse. Fights he often would. Conrad didn't like that. He never liked that. In this little world he was the authority and he would rather kill than be disrespected. But they were just kids. Stupid, childish kids. Time and again the beating would be for nothing more than not paying attention.
He shared his bunk with Milo, of course. It wasn't often that such pairings were allowed or tolerated in this place, but Dave was forming quite a connection to the young boy. A connection he had rarely seen before or since. A connection that many have rarely seen before or since. A connection he could use. A connection he could exploit.
He had many proteges over the years. Many who he felt would be his number one star. Kids who he could see great things ahead for. Dave was one of them though Conrad would never mention a thing about it to the others under his wing. He saw Dave as his prime opportunity to make a true champion. He saw the qualities in Dave, and he wanted to see if they could be destroyed.
They couldn't.
All he achieved in his years of torment and torture was to instil in Dave a drive to do good. To repel everything that he had ever seen in Conrad. To show that he was a champion not because of him, but in spite of him. He did this time and again in the years to come but no victory was sweeter than the one against Curtis Kanyon.
That's why he doesn't hate his childhood. That'd the reason he keeps his parent's old house. To remind him that if he had led that life he wouldn't be the champion he is. Likely, Charlie Velez would currently be crowned world champion and a tremendous force for good would be missing from nCw as a whole.
That's why he keeps this room in the orphanage seperate from the newly furbished rooms that are used by the current generations of kids. This is why he keeps the basement as it once was. Sealed away so only those who lived through it may go down and remember.
Remember what made them.
And more importantly, why and how it made them.
*We're inside Dave's locker room now. He has changed into his wrestling tights and is now putting on his elbow pads. He looks calm and in control, just as he should. Hanging on the locker door in front of him is the world championship belt itself, and unusual sight around Dave. He must be the only wrestler in history not to wear the belt at every given opportunity.*
I said at the outset of my quest for the world championship that I didn't just want to be a world champion, I wanted to be a great world champion. I wanted to be the best world champion. So far, I reckon I've done the belt proud. I've carried myself with pride and respect as befitting a champion. I've not allowed the name of it to be sullied and I've actually beaten a few men along the way to add some prestige back to the belt. And now I face my toughest contest to date.
Tell me Charlie... what kind of a champion would I be if I lost it at my very first title defence? I believe there's a word for that is there not? I've heard it apply to so many people. Transitional. A champion that, as you would put it, got lucky and then failed to maintain that luck when another came along a bit luckier than the first. You've said yourself now Charlie, I'm not just lucky. So do you really think I'm going to allow the name, not just of the world title I hold, but my own damn name be sullied by failing so epically that no one will give a rats ass?
*Dave finishes adjusting his pads and starts lacing up his boots.*
After tasting the heights of success do you think I'm going to be fighting at a level that would see me plummet back down to the levels of before? Don't get me wrong, I won't quit over losing should that happen but do you really think I'm not going to do everything in my power to keep hold of where I am?
My work is not done. Stability must be brought to this turbulent stage. One man must stand above the others and remain doing so for a considerable time to come. Are you that man Charlie? Are you the one to save the world? If I remember correctly, you had a major issue with me doing so when I said it last time. And so it falls to me. The only man in this company with a chance in hell of beating you. The only man in this company with actually more than a chance. Because I have a goal. I have a destiny. I have no choice but to plough onward.
You're still young Charlie, you'll get over it. These last couple of days I've seen you mature enormously. To the point where you've started accepting some truths that you just could not before. I now wonder if you'll be able to accept some more. I wonder if you haven't already rethought your position on becoming nothing when you lose this match. I wonder if you haven't already considered what you would do, formed yourself a back up plan. Maybe not even consciously, but somewhere I think you have. You've seen something in the last few days that has convinced you that I am a greater threat to you, your dreams and your destiny than even you could have imagined.
I am Dave Holland. I am nCw's World Champion. I am it's people's one true champion, crowned or not. But the gold is not mine to lose, it is simply mine to protect. To defend. And I will do so with every single breath in my body. I will do so until there is no more to give. I will do so, until you are broken. And you will know the great mistake you made by attempting to overcome me.
Your great strength... your great resilience... they will be your undoing. Where lesser men would fall at the slightest tough, you will only be felled by a ten megaton bomb... and no one comes back from that the same, if at all.
I've said it all week Charlie, and I'll say it once more just to make sure you know that I mean it.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
*Dave finishes lacing up his boots and he walks past the camera. His face no longer the usual happy smiling face we're used to, but a sorrowful one. As if Charlie were a friend of his that he had no choice but to fight.*
But you are not prepared.
*We're now at LAX, the airport in Los Angeles. We're waiting in the departure lounge where a group of people stand out from the crowd due to cunning camera work and framing. It's Dave Holland saying goodbye to his wife and son.*
Alex: I want to go with dad.
Dave: Because what I do isn't for you to see. I don't want you to get upset until you understand, alright kiddo?
*Dave picks up his son and kisses him.*
Dave: Besides, Mommy's not allowed to fly. She's got a little brother or sister for you in her tummy and they could get sick if she does. So you've gotta stay here and look after her... ok?
Alex: Ok.
*Mel approaches her husband and places an arm about his waist. She then leans in and kisses him.*
Mel: Good luck.
Dave: Thanks. You'll be watching?
Mel: Already paid for. I wouldn't miss a moment.
Dave: Good. It means a lot to me, that.
Mel: Here, I'll trade you.
*Mel offers Dave his travel bag. Dave takes it and then hands her Alex. After a moment of just looking in each other's eyes Dave turns and starts walking away.*
Mel: Champion!
*Dave turns.*
Mel: Come back with your shield... or on it.
*He knows it's corny, but he likes it when his wife gets in on the showmanship. Dave places his fist against his heart and bows his head. He turns again and continues to his flight with a smile on his face.*
I don't care anymore. Not about anything but my people.
They deserve me as their champion.
I'm not going to let them down.
You cannot defeat me...
You will not defeat me...
Not now... Not Ever
This was never about me.
I'm just the man in your way.
I'm just the man on your throne.
When it's your story...
It's not too surprising that you're the hero.
Unfortunately for you Charlie
You're up against the original Hero.
This is still my story.
And I'm the man in your way.
*We're at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Preparations are made for the big event. People are already queuing up for tickets, some of them look as though they've been camped out for days. About the building, massive posters have been hung depicting the bigger of the matches due to take place this very night.*
Nemesis
"A righteous infliction of retribution, manifested by an appropriate agent."
-Brick Top, Snatch
"A righteous infliction of retribution, manifested by an appropriate agent."
-Brick Top, Snatch
SUNDAY
*The camera starts making it's way about the posters, gradually moving further and further up the card for Breaking Away.*
Part of me has dreamed of this day for years. I part I only recognised a month or two ago. A part that often kept quiet. Or a part that I at least forced to keep quiet. A part of me that wanted me to succeed. And nto just succeed, but achieve, and be truly rewarded for those achievements. I didn't understand myself as I do now, and I don't think any of us truly understand why we do what we do.
There's always something new to learn. I've defended titles before but never on quite a scale as this. Just look at it all. Look at what nCw has become. Look at just what I represent. Look at just what I have become an avatar for. Each of you can be proud. Every single man and woman on the roster can look at their world and say 'yes, I am a part of that'.
From Williams and Reigns, their feet just in the door fighting on the web show, through my Brother and Will Washington facing off against Harold and Venom. From the womens world title, the x title, the tag titles that I hold so dear to my heart. The grudge matches, the street fight, the display of tactical excellence from Brad and Evan... right up to Charlie and myself heading the whole show off. Every single one of you... be proud.
We are the best. Of that I have absolutely no doubt. Across the board I can't see anything that will disappoint. I see nothing to use as a bathroom break like in some companies shows I've watched in the past. I want to see every minute of it. i want to watch every single moment. I want to bask in the glory that is the finest wrestling in the world. But that will all have to wait until tomorrow.
Tonight... I have more personal obligations to fulfill. I have to put on a show, I have to fight for everything... in a match that simply put, has to top everything the rest of you do.
And can I just say... thanks for making that job so damn hard.
*The sky begins to darken swiftly as we zoom out from the posters showing Charlie Velez looking intimidating in one direction, and Dave Holland doing likewise right back at him. The crowds lining up are no longer to get tickets but to get inside the arena. They're here for Breaking Point. The time is almost upon us.*
I'm glad Charlie. I'm glad it's you I'm facing in my first world title defence. I may have misjudged you in the weeks leading up til now... and in doing so, I think I may have done you a great injustice. I saw you and your path to the title with a great sense of inevitability. As soon as you'd said two words to me at road to the gold I knew this match would happen. Either you would beat me and I would chase you down, or I would beat you and vice versa.
The reason that I'm pleased it's you though... is because of the exact same reason you so desperately fought to get here. You and I both want the same thing. We both want a worthy champion to represent nCw. The only difference between us is just what we deem worthy.
You focus on skill and ability. Something we both have and you have finally admitted I possess. I didn't beat you with luck. I wonder then, if I beat you again... will you consider that I'm better than you? Honestly, I don't know. But I look forward to finding out. I cannot argue though, that a champion has to have skill. Has to have talent. He has to be the best, if he is to properly represent his company.
I on the other hand... I take this as a given. I take it that anyone who is able to claim a world title without having it given to them on a silver platter has to have a great amount of skill and talent. If he's not the best, he wouldn't have even gotten a shot. No. What I focus on, what i truly feel is the number one characteristic a man must have to be champion... he must have the right reasons.
He must be fighting for more than himself. He must be fighting for his company, must be fighting for his legacy. He must be fighting for everyone. And until I watched your last video... I knew you were such a man. And in a way... you were a martyr.
*Dave enters the shot. He stands a distance away from the arena, far enough that none of the fans have spotted him yet. He stands there looking up at the posters of himself and Charlie, an odd little smile on his face. After a few moments taking it in, he begins walking to the arena.*
Because you're fighting for the betterment of the world. You're fighting with the gods honest intention of placing the best man for the job into the job he is best for. Even though you won't be loved, even though you've made yourself out as the villain in your quest to do so. Charlie... I might not like your attitude some of the time... but you are a lot more noble than you let on. Maybe if you showed that side more often then maybe people would start to like you.
It's up to you of course. I'm not telling you how to act, it's not my place at all. But, I dunno. Something in the way you were talking... I think maybe you'd quite like to be liked. Not just for your ability... but for who you are. Regardless, these are considerations for the future.
Right now there's the matter of you and me. You showed me something else with your words Charlie. I wasn't sure until then but now I know. You showed respect. All along you have said I'm a great wrestler but you never said I had your respect. The fact you left me off your list of 'joke champions' was all I needed. As such Charlie, thank you. In that ring, if a shaking of hands is out of the question, fine. But I'll not turn a hand away.
I respect what you do Charlie. I respect why you do it. And should you take my title from me, while I'll be disappointed in myself, while I'll do my damnedest to get back at you and claim it right back, I'll still respect you as champion. Because you'll have had to put a hell of a lot into beating me. You know as well as I do and everyone else that it's no small achievement. One that no one has done yet.
That alone deserves respect.
*We cut away to a house in Wales. It's a small terraced house in the town of Llangollen. The house hasn't been lived in for years it seems. The windows are filthy with dirt, the net curtains coated in dust. The room we're looking at is a bedroom. A double bed takes up most of the room with wardrobes to the side of the room. As you'd imagine the entire place is coated in the general filth of time.*
MONDAY
He doesn't come here often. In his travels about the world he has been to many places. Just this week he would visit what would turn out to be the holy city of Jerusalem. This place though, this is far more personal. Far more meaningful to Dave. This was the house that should have been his home.
This was the house where he should have had all the fond memories of childhood. This was the house where he should have had his slumber parties, where he should have scraped his knees in the back yard. This was the house that was denied him. This was the house that fate decreed he was unworthy of.
He's thought many times on why such a cruel twist would be played on him. As a Christian he found it hard to imagine that if there was a God, why would he allow such things to happen. Over time he came to understand. He came to realise that he was special. Not special like everyone is to someone, but that he was special to the world.
Had he lived in this house, if he had grown up in the home of Megan and Castor Holland he would have become ust like everyone else. He would have had a good job, he might even have become a millionaire. But he certainly wouldn't have become the man he is. And maybe that's why he suffered as he did. Maybe that's why life cast him in this role.
Technically Dave owns this house. He bought it years ago. He never touched it though. He couldn't bring himself to. As much as he hated his childhood it had served a purpose.
And having the place where the alternative could have been... That always reminded him of it.
As he turned from the bed where his mother and father slept about thirty years ago, he knows he needs to relive his life. He knows he must follow his path once more just to remind himself. Just to remember why he's fighting in the end.
He knows just where he has to go next... and he never looks forward to it.
He turns from his home that should have been and goes on his way to his home that was.
SUNDAY
*We're back at the Saddledome. Dave is walking through the backstage halls of what has essentially become nCw HQ. Various people are making their last minute preparations for the big show. Cameras and microphones are being checked, pyrotechnics are being tested and fused, lights are having their bulbs replaced and occasionally you can see a wrestler preparing themselves for their match. Some of them nervously pacing, others just marching toward an unknown goal in a straight line. Dave acknowledges those who do likewise to him, but he has a place to be.
He has a match to get ready for.*
So what's going to happen tonight? What's going to go down? Are we looking at a respect filled battle of wills, minds and souls to prove who's best? Or are we looking at what may well be the start of a long and bitter rivalry? Or possibly, both? Everyone knows what I am and what I do, Charlie. You're still a bit of a mystery. And that's something to be quite proud of. After all your time in this wrestling industry you can still surprise people.
But so can I. No one expected me to win the last time, and then I did.
I know why I did last time. I had more drive. I had more reason, more purpose. I wasn't fighting for just myself or my family. I was fighting for everyone. I was fighting for everything. Fate itself guided me, groomed me from a young age towards that moment. Towards being the man you see now. Towards becoming the man everyone loves here in nCw. The man who could do anything and still be a hero to them all... the man who could... and yet doesn't.
*Dave runs into his brother who is already changed into his in-ring gear. The two share a conversation as they continue walking along.*
I never understood why people keep making the dump in a hall reference. Beyond the normal childishness that men can sometimes exhibit. But I think I understand now. You tried to think of what the worst thing you could see is. You thought up the single most disgusting and abhorrent thing I could do is, and you put that idea into the heads of everyone.... including myself. Thanks for that.
But that's not what I think of when I think of the worst thing I could do. No. The worst thing I could do is to turn on my fans. Is to abandon their cause. To stop being who I am. To regret anything I have done in their name for any amount of time. Which means that the worst thing I could do right now, is fail to defend their title. And in doing so, I'm afraid I have to become something you won't like very much at all.
*Dave reaches a door. It has his name on it and also a clear plaque that has his title written on it. Milo pats his shoulder as he walks away, presumably to find Will and get sorted for that bit of fun. Dave just places a hand on the plaque and lets it sink in. He's at a pay per view... and he is the World Champion*
I've held many titles in my time. I've done a lot of things. I've been Hardcore, I've been Extreme. I've been crippled, I've been a general manager of an entire show. I've been a champion on several levels. I've been a Gladiator, I've been a contender, I have been Mister Road to the Gold. I've been a legend, a world champion and in a few places... some even think of me as little more than a myth. That I'm too good to be true. But none of these will even compare to the title you will have for me when I have finished with you.
It's a title that is very much a more personal one. Most people have one person they refer to thus. I don't suppose you even have one right now do you Charlie? What I'm going to become... is the one person in the whole damn world that you just can't beat. I'm going to be the man you both relish and dread facing. The man you will want to chase and hunt down time and again, searching for that first and only victory against them. To say that 'Yes... on that day I was the better man'. I am going to be to you your worst nightmare and your greatest challenge. A man very similar to you in many ways except one.
I will always be better than you. I will always beat you.
*Dave walks through the door and closes it behind him on the camera.*
I am your nemesis.
*We cut to a small room. Tiny. In it are two sets of bunk beds. They're old and they don't look particularly strong. They're covered in graffiti from years of use and abuse from various occupants. At the foot of each bed is a chest for keeping clothes and the like in.*
WEDNESDAY
This was his room. His four walls of sanctuary. At least while he was here he could sleep and rest. He never knew for how long at a time but he would always take as much as he could get before being dragged away for the next punishment. Or maybe the next torture. Or even the next fight.
Fights he could refuse. Fights he often would. Conrad didn't like that. He never liked that. In this little world he was the authority and he would rather kill than be disrespected. But they were just kids. Stupid, childish kids. Time and again the beating would be for nothing more than not paying attention.
He shared his bunk with Milo, of course. It wasn't often that such pairings were allowed or tolerated in this place, but Dave was forming quite a connection to the young boy. A connection he had rarely seen before or since. A connection that many have rarely seen before or since. A connection he could use. A connection he could exploit.
He had many proteges over the years. Many who he felt would be his number one star. Kids who he could see great things ahead for. Dave was one of them though Conrad would never mention a thing about it to the others under his wing. He saw Dave as his prime opportunity to make a true champion. He saw the qualities in Dave, and he wanted to see if they could be destroyed.
They couldn't.
All he achieved in his years of torment and torture was to instil in Dave a drive to do good. To repel everything that he had ever seen in Conrad. To show that he was a champion not because of him, but in spite of him. He did this time and again in the years to come but no victory was sweeter than the one against Curtis Kanyon.
That's why he doesn't hate his childhood. That'd the reason he keeps his parent's old house. To remind him that if he had led that life he wouldn't be the champion he is. Likely, Charlie Velez would currently be crowned world champion and a tremendous force for good would be missing from nCw as a whole.
That's why he keeps this room in the orphanage seperate from the newly furbished rooms that are used by the current generations of kids. This is why he keeps the basement as it once was. Sealed away so only those who lived through it may go down and remember.
Remember what made them.
And more importantly, why and how it made them.
SUNDAY
*We're inside Dave's locker room now. He has changed into his wrestling tights and is now putting on his elbow pads. He looks calm and in control, just as he should. Hanging on the locker door in front of him is the world championship belt itself, and unusual sight around Dave. He must be the only wrestler in history not to wear the belt at every given opportunity.*
I said at the outset of my quest for the world championship that I didn't just want to be a world champion, I wanted to be a great world champion. I wanted to be the best world champion. So far, I reckon I've done the belt proud. I've carried myself with pride and respect as befitting a champion. I've not allowed the name of it to be sullied and I've actually beaten a few men along the way to add some prestige back to the belt. And now I face my toughest contest to date.
Tell me Charlie... what kind of a champion would I be if I lost it at my very first title defence? I believe there's a word for that is there not? I've heard it apply to so many people. Transitional. A champion that, as you would put it, got lucky and then failed to maintain that luck when another came along a bit luckier than the first. You've said yourself now Charlie, I'm not just lucky. So do you really think I'm going to allow the name, not just of the world title I hold, but my own damn name be sullied by failing so epically that no one will give a rats ass?
*Dave finishes adjusting his pads and starts lacing up his boots.*
After tasting the heights of success do you think I'm going to be fighting at a level that would see me plummet back down to the levels of before? Don't get me wrong, I won't quit over losing should that happen but do you really think I'm not going to do everything in my power to keep hold of where I am?
My work is not done. Stability must be brought to this turbulent stage. One man must stand above the others and remain doing so for a considerable time to come. Are you that man Charlie? Are you the one to save the world? If I remember correctly, you had a major issue with me doing so when I said it last time. And so it falls to me. The only man in this company with a chance in hell of beating you. The only man in this company with actually more than a chance. Because I have a goal. I have a destiny. I have no choice but to plough onward.
You're still young Charlie, you'll get over it. These last couple of days I've seen you mature enormously. To the point where you've started accepting some truths that you just could not before. I now wonder if you'll be able to accept some more. I wonder if you haven't already rethought your position on becoming nothing when you lose this match. I wonder if you haven't already considered what you would do, formed yourself a back up plan. Maybe not even consciously, but somewhere I think you have. You've seen something in the last few days that has convinced you that I am a greater threat to you, your dreams and your destiny than even you could have imagined.
I am Dave Holland. I am nCw's World Champion. I am it's people's one true champion, crowned or not. But the gold is not mine to lose, it is simply mine to protect. To defend. And I will do so with every single breath in my body. I will do so until there is no more to give. I will do so, until you are broken. And you will know the great mistake you made by attempting to overcome me.
Your great strength... your great resilience... they will be your undoing. Where lesser men would fall at the slightest tough, you will only be felled by a ten megaton bomb... and no one comes back from that the same, if at all.
I've said it all week Charlie, and I'll say it once more just to make sure you know that I mean it.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
*Dave finishes lacing up his boots and he walks past the camera. His face no longer the usual happy smiling face we're used to, but a sorrowful one. As if Charlie were a friend of his that he had no choice but to fight.*
But you are not prepared.
*We're now at LAX, the airport in Los Angeles. We're waiting in the departure lounge where a group of people stand out from the crowd due to cunning camera work and framing. It's Dave Holland saying goodbye to his wife and son.*
FRIDAY
Alex: I want to go with dad.
Dave: Because what I do isn't for you to see. I don't want you to get upset until you understand, alright kiddo?
*Dave picks up his son and kisses him.*
Dave: Besides, Mommy's not allowed to fly. She's got a little brother or sister for you in her tummy and they could get sick if she does. So you've gotta stay here and look after her... ok?
Alex: Ok.
*Mel approaches her husband and places an arm about his waist. She then leans in and kisses him.*
Mel: Good luck.
Dave: Thanks. You'll be watching?
Mel: Already paid for. I wouldn't miss a moment.
Dave: Good. It means a lot to me, that.
Mel: Here, I'll trade you.
*Mel offers Dave his travel bag. Dave takes it and then hands her Alex. After a moment of just looking in each other's eyes Dave turns and starts walking away.*
Mel: Champion!
*Dave turns.*
Mel: Come back with your shield... or on it.
*He knows it's corny, but he likes it when his wife gets in on the showmanship. Dave places his fist against his heart and bows his head. He turns again and continues to his flight with a smile on his face.*
I don't care anymore. Not about anything but my people.
They deserve me as their champion.
I'm not going to let them down.
You cannot defeat me...
You will not defeat me...
Not now... Not Ever