My Path To Honor, Part 6 - F*ck Pride

[Joe Everyman]

Now I'm down
And I wonder how I never got the burn
And if I'm ever gonna learn
How lonely people make a life
One strain at a time

The scene somberly opens up inside of what looks to be a dimly lit bar. Red flood lights fill the dark corners of the building. The camera slowly pans over to see a dark skinned man sitting down, facing towards an also seated Joe Everyman. Joe looks more stern that he was the night before.

Joe Everyman: You wanted to see me?

Unknown Man: Yeah... I'm sick and tired of seeing you lose all the damn time. I'm going to make for damn sure you win this week. You need it, and if you don't do it, you will fail. Are you going to take that sh*t that Ander said to you? Huh?! Listen to him and get mad!

Joe Everyman: I...

Unknown Man: Save it! I'm sure your response is going to be a generic Joe response, and that isn't going to cut it this week. If you want to get the Honor Championship and be relevant again, you better get good and get good fast. The night of the fight, you may feel a slight sting. That's pride f*cking with you. F*ck pride! Pride only hurts, it never helps. The night of the fight, if you lose, you will be disowned by the entire nCw roster, the fans, everybody. One more loss is going to be the one where you get booed just because you suck. No more clinging on fans, no more shirt deals, no more anything. If you don't step it up, everyone will forget you was ever in this company. Do you want that to happen? Do you think your loved ones, the ones left at least, want that? Do you think people who have helped you your entire career, like me, want this? Some may lie, but we all care about you and we want you to succeed. Lance, Spike, Angel, Falcon, all of them, want you to win. Now... what are you going to do?

Joe looks at over the table at the man, clearly made angry from what he said. Joe doesn't blink, he doesn't gesture, he just sits there. After a few moments, he finally opens his mouth.

Joe Everyman: ...I will win.

Unknown Man: And what else?

Joe Everyman: F*ck pride.

The scene then somberly fades out, just as it faded in.

How am I suppose to go about you, Ander? I mean, you took all of the fun out of bad mouthing you. So, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to tell you to go f*ck yourself and do it anyway! Because the people who say multiple times that something doesn't bother them are the ones that it bothers even more. All of my losses, all of the jokes, all of the down talking, yes, they all bother me, but I won't go out and say that they don't. Because that would be a damn lie! Just like all of yours. You know deep down that it all bothers you, almost to the point of rage. Maybe you should let out the rage, you know, instead of the thirty five seconds you give Roxxxie every night. Er, wait, I mean Amy Marshall... because it's the thing to change names nowadays. Ander, maybe you should change your name too. I mean, not to throw any out there, but maybe Michael Cera would work for you. Yeah, I'm name dropping like a mother f*cker this week, and ask me how many f*cks I give about it too? I can tell you it's not many, in fact, not a single one. My storeroom of f*cks is running low and winter is coming.

It's not that I hate you Ander, cause I really don't. I think you're a f*ck up, I think you're worthless, I think you're blander than a documentary about paint, but I certainly don't hate you! Hell, I kinda like you. You're like a younger brother to me almost. You know, a younger brother that I beat up and steal money from. But that's doesn't mean I hate you! But I don't like you either... I just don't care about you. You're so small time, you make fruit flies look important. Of course that goes against what I've already said, because you make nothing and nobody looks important. Our match is going to be brought down because of you. I would love to challenge literally anybody else for the Honor Championship, but sadly, I have to fight... you. It's a pity really, because I would really like to face someone who can really show off my skills. Hell, I would rather face Jimmy Zane in this match! And if you've ever seen me talk before, you know how much I hate him.

I won't lie though, Ander, I am looking forward to this match. I do remember the last time we fought, and I remember losing. Grudges are a funny thing in this business, because we almost get to choose if we want to continue them due to how sporadic our matches can be sometimes. I still hate Lance Ryan, but I haven't faced him in two years. I still hate Gabriel Karras, and I'm not sure if he's even alive anymore! What about JFK? I hate him too. But you Ander, as I said earlier, I don't hate you. But depending on the end of our match, I may have to move you into the list of people in this company that I can't stand. So far, I've got a pretty big chuck of the entire roster, whether they are new or old, still wrestling or retired. If you want to get onto my bad side, you will get there without much effort. Sure, most people in nCw don't care to listen to my threats, but they say the same thing up until the minute I beat them. Everyone in nCw knows that I am one of the best, and all of them are afraid of me. When I need to win a match, I win the damn match!

I bet you were super excited for this match. It seems like this is right up your alley. You finally face someone who you think you can beat one on one just because you talk a big game... well, small game. I mean, come on, what you said this week was more predictable than what I was going to say. You are just that... you're predictable. And that may be the reason why you're so bland and boring. You are more predictable than me, and EVERYONE knows what I'm going to say! But maybe just for this week, I'll spice it up a little bit. Allow me, if you will, to compare you to a few things so the fans can get a good sense of who you really are.

You are the Crystal Chronicles to the Final Fantasy franchise.

You are the Zelda Two, The Adventure to Link of the Zelda franchise.

You are the Saint Anger to the other Metallica albums.

You are the Edmonton Oilers to the rest of the NHL.

You are the Cleveland Browns to the rest of the NFL.

You are the Sacramento Kings to the rest of the NBA.

You are the Kansas City Royals to the rest of the MLB.

You are the entire MLS to the rest of the soccer world.

You got it by now? Cause I've got a few more that you'll probably love... what, you want me to keep going? Alright then!

You are the soy milk to the dairy world.

You are the Duke Nukem to the video game world.

You are the Amy Rose to the Sonic games.

You are every single person fears of what they may become if they don't do well in life. Do you get it now, Ander? You're a failure, and you always will be. nCw put you up against a weakling with a title so you could easily win it off of him, which you did. And even in the rematch, you beat him. So great, management felt sorry for you so they put you up against easily the worst wrestler in nCw today. Did it make you feel proud to win that match? Did it make you feel proud that you won a championship? Did it make you feel proud that people paid attention to you for once? F*CK PRIDE! And specifically, f*ck your pride! You will have no pride left after this match. After this match, you won't have anything left. Ask anybody, and as much as I hate to admit it, but losing to me is a pretty big black mark on your career. But most of all, you will have no honor left after this match. If the holder of that championship is the most honorable in this company, then I will gladly hold it with dignity. Heh... I was about to say with pride, but there is no pride left. Only a bloodlust.

I will shock the world this week, and Ander, I will make you look worse than normal while doing it. Trust me when I say this; you are going down. This match means a lot to me, because it will finally get me back into the spotlight, even if it's a lower tier championship. But even more than that, winning the title means that I beat you and proved that everything you said was wrong. But don't worry Ander, I'm sure you'll bounce back... as you so claimed, you have the heart to take a loss and keep going. But I'll prove this week that it was the biggest lie you ever put out there. I will show the world that you are a fraud, a liar, a cheat and a loser. Simply put, I will show the world that I am better than you. I promised to shock the world, and that's exactly what I will do! I will prove to everyone that I belong. I will prove to everyone that you don't need pride to win. I will prove to everyone that I have what it takes to still wear the gold in this company. And most of all, I will prove to the world that you are nothing more than an empty husk of what used to be a man. Say what you will Ander, because none of it will matter some Sunday. At Breaking Away, I will show you, and the rest of the world, and I am the best damn wrestler this company has ever seen!

Forgot about
Everything and everyone I needed before
Tryin' to get a handle on a reason to shine
Pickin' up the pieces that are falling behind takes time