Post by Will Washington on Apr 6, 2012 21:51:18 GMT -6
Sunday, March 25th, 2012.
{The scene opens inside of a well-furnished gym instead of the Washington household. We see Will working over a heavy bag that is being held in place by a familiar face from Will’s past, Rocky Kingman. Washington lights into the bag with a series of quick punches before grabbing it and laying in some knees. The NCW wrestler’s protégé is the first to speak.}
Rocky: “Woah. Hold on there man. You don’t want to overexert yourself.”
{The former soldier stops striking for a moment to respond to his pupil.}
Will: “Come on Rocky. I’m going to have go even harder than this is I plan on winning the Coliseum.”
Rocky: “You’re not going to be very effective in there if you’re already dead.”
Will: “I’m in the best shape of my life.”
Rocky: “You know they’re going to expect you to have ring rust. You could lure them into a false security with that.”
Will: “No. If they know what they’re up against it will throw them off of their game. I want them to know I’m better than ever.”
Rocky: “They’ll be shaking in their boots.”
{Will finishes up with the punching bag and heads over to the bench press, increasing the weight on the bar to three hundred and fifty pounds. He lays down on the bench and firmly grips the bar.}
Will: “Spot me.”
{Our hero lifts the weight and brings it down to his chest before pushing it back up. He does another rep… and slowly another. The camera pulls back and we see Will’s fiancé Kristen walk up and tap Rocky on the shoulder. Will starts to lose steam and needs some help with the bar, but he looks up to see his fiance looking at him with a death glare.}
Kristen: “The Coliseum?!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?”
Will: “I…. uh…. I….. I really….. need some….. help.”
Kristen: “You’ll get help once you explain yourself!”
{The weight is becoming unbearable and Rocky sidesteps Kristen to help Will get the bar back in place. An exhausted Will lays on the weight bench while he gets the third degree from his future wife.}
Kristen: “How could you agree to be in that match and not ask me first?!”
Will: “I…”
Kristen: “You should know how dangerous it is more than anyone! How could you be so reckless?”
Will: “I…”
Kristen: “We’re supposed to be building a life together and you go and make a giant decision without me? What were you thinking?”
Will: “….”
Kristen: “And another thing…”
{Will interrupts Kristen.}
Will: “Are you going to let me talk?”
Kristen: “You’ll talk when I tell you that you can talk!”
{She folds her arms and a moment of complete silence sweeps over.}
Kristen: “You can talk now.”
Will: “Kelly came up to me a few weeks ago and offered me a spot in the Coliseum. It was too good to pass up.”
Kristen: “You didn’t consult me at all.”
Will: “I wanted it to be a surprise.”
Kristen: “Well I was certainly surprised… and not in a good way.”
Will: “I’m sorry I didn’t ask you, but I had a limited amount of time to make a decision.”
Kristen: “You could have called me first!”
Will: “I didn’t have time!”
{Kristen moves around to stand in front of the bench, and Will sits up. She glares a hole in him with her arms still folded.}
Kristen: “I don’t like this at all.”
Will: “You’re the one who told me it was okay to go back to NCW in the first place.”
Kristen: “Yeah, but I didn’t tell you to sign your own death warrant!”
Will: “It’s not that serious. I’ve made it through before.”
Kristen: “Barely.”
Will: “Yeah, but I still made it out of there with my spine intact, and I expect nothing less this time around.”
Kristen: “This is not okay Will. No matter how much you try to rationalize it, what you did was wrong. We’re supposed to be a team!”
Will: “You can’t tell me to go back and then try and handcuff me. It’s not going to work like that. I know I didn’t ask you first, but it looks to me like you wouldn’t have said yes anyway.”
Kristen: “Of course I wouldn’t have. Only an idiot signs on for a match like that!”
Will: “Well I guess I’m an idiot then.”
Kristen: “I guess so.”
{Kristen storms out of the gym area and Will stands up with a look of pure fury. His protégé steps back in with an ‘oh ****!’ look on his face.}
Rocky: “Damn bro.”
{Will walks back over and starts striking the punching bag again with an intensity that can’t be matched.}
Will: “Whatever.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________
“Thanks for the history lesson Spike.”
“People like Ricky Johnson and Spike Kane are destined for failure. When you live in the past you miss the future, and that’s exactly what those two are doing. They want to focus all of their attention on the things I’ve accomplished in the past and lament on their own greatest successes instead of looking at the milestones that are still to come. Here’s the problem though boys… I don’t care about the past. I lived it once and I’ve learned from it, and in doing so, I’ve become a better man. I can’t give Ricky a pass for dwelling on the past, but it’s all Spike has…. So I guess it’s to be expected.”
“Oh Spike. My dear sweet Spike. That’s the best you can do? Take all valid points and simply chalk it up to being ‘butt hurt’? You’re an adult, right? You have to be, considering you gave us all your entire life story without anyone ever asking for it. After sitting through that neverending rambling, I’ve come to the conclusion that you must have been hit in the head too many time because honest to god I don’t know what the heck you were talking about? Basically the same thing you said last week? Ah yes, because that worked so well the first time.”
“You call me on my faults and then think it’s ludicrous when someone else calls you on your even more blatant misdeeds? That’s the most hypocritical thing I’ve seen since Johnny Dakota showed up at Bayside to shoot an anti-drug commercial. Yep. I just went all Saved By The Bell on you.”
“And I can understand how you’d get loyalty and pride confused with sucking up since it’s such an unknown concept to you. Someone who runs away at the first sight of opportunity is bound to not understand what it’s like to stay loyal to the place you call home. Maybe we’re just wired differently genetically or maybe we just see the world differently, but I’ll take being called an ‘ass-kisser’ over being a wishy-washy turncoat piece of trash any day of the week. So go ahead. Continue to cast aspersions against me. Label me anything you want, but when the time comes, don’t forget to include ‘two-time Coliseum winner’ in your colorful list of descriptions.”
“If you insist on giving us your own little slanted history lesson, allow me to tell you your future Spike. I don’t need tarot cards or even a Magic 8-Ball to tell you how things are going to go for you from now on. You’re going to keep flapping your gums and believing your own hype… and then Sunday is going to hit and you’re going to be out of your league. All of the old feelings are going to come back to you and the adrenaline will drive you… for a moment. Then the harsh realization will set in that you just can’t hang anymore. In your mind you still have a chance to reclaim prior glories, but in your heart you know all hope is lost. Everything you’ve worked so hard to build will crumble right in front of you.”
“Your focus on the past is only a half-hearted attempt to hide the fact that you fear your future. You know very well that this may be your one last chance at glory and it absolutely terrifies you. Time has passed you by and you’re doing all you can to turn a blind eye to a most bleak and depressing outlook. You can’t beat time and you can’t outrun the grim reaper… just ask any aging starlet in Hollywood. You can get botox, liposuction, and any nips and tucks your heart desires, but at the end of the day, you’re still only a few steps from your demise. That’s what this little quest is for you Spike… It’s another shot of botox in the decaying face of your career. Slowly but surely you’ll come to realize that your attempts at delaying the inevitable are only surviving to highlight your deepest wrinkles.”
“They say time heals all wounds, but that’s not entirely true. Sometimes time helps mend your mind, body, and soul… but sometimes those wounds fester when untreated. You’re putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound Spike…. And it’s only a matter of time before the legend of Spike Kane dies.”
“Come Sunday the embers of your career finally die out, and you’ll have no one to blame but yourself. You should have died with dignity, but you let foolish pride get in the way. A tragic end for a tragic tale.”
“Speaking of storybook endings, let’s talk about our Nation’s Champion. Ricky Johnson. I don’t think I need to say anything else about your track record here in the company, and I could certainly go the rest of my life without you recanting my history yet again. I get it. In your eyes I haven’t done anything of worth, and probably never will. Excuse me if I don’t call it quits right now just because Ricky Johnson doesn’t believe in me. I’ll do my best to move on without your blessing.”
“I do find it curious however, that during all of your talk of my past successes, you managed to skim over the most important note of all. See Ricky… we’ve done this same song and dance before. You were in the same very ring where I stood triumphant after defeating five other men and staking my rightful claim as Gladiator of NCW. You want to bring up the fact that I won that match and the fact that I didn’t capitalize on my momentum, but where did you go from there? What have you done since? I’ve sung your praises over your continued second-tier success, but according to you, nothing else you’ve done matters.”
“…I beg to differ.”
“You have done great things throughout your career, but somehow the World Title has eluded you. That fact doesn’t render your past successes moot, yet you say it so. I can understand your frustrations considering I’ve never achieved the highest level possible, but you can’t let frustrations rule your life. Maybe it’s all just a ploy to downgrade your history to amplify the impact if you won the Coliseum, but that’s for only you to know.”
“So you enter the Coliseum with your ever-growing list of title victories, again shooting for the ultimate prize. If this were the fairytale that you so greatly wish it to be, the consistent, lovable underdog would overcome all of the odds and slay all of the dragons to cement his name in the annals alongside the elite names in our company’s history. The hero Ricky Johnson would stand victorious with National Title in hand and the status as future World Champion filling his soul. Hollywood couldn‘t have written a better script.”
“Unfortunately for you, this isn’t a storybook.”
“The good guy doesn’t always win, and things don’t always work out for the better. The hero doesn’t always get the girl and things don’t wrap up conveniently in less than two hours. We can’t summarize a life time of struggle in a nice little marketable package, and your suffering will ultimately continue past our grand finale. The feel good ending may involve you vanquishing all of your demons, but you’re not the one writing this story.”
“…I am.”
“I’m the man who stares in the face of the hero and laughs. In the grand story of Ricky Johnson’s greatest win, there is one obstacle that can’t be overcome… one fire-breathing dragon that just can’t be beaten… one man set to ruin the perfect ending. Try as you might with everything you can… you can’t. No matter how desperate you are to craft the perfect story of one man’s triumph, at the end of the day, you have no control of it. Because in your life’s story you may be the hero, but when your story interferes with mine… the hero must meet a hero’s death. It won’t be pretty and it won’t be celebrated, but it’s only a hero’s nature to go out in a spectacular fashion… and it’s in the villain’s nature to facilitate your demise.”
“….I am the villain… and this is my story. There will be no happy ending for you. Only sadness, despair, bargaining, and my glorious victory. Do you know what thethe worst part will be for you Ricky? At least Spike got his moment in the sun before his tragic end… you were always blanketed by someone else’s shadow."
“…And that darkness will swallow you whole.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________
{After a while longer in the gym, we open back up with Will Washington walking into his bedroom where we see his fiancé sitting on the bed with her head in her hands. Will wipes the sweat from his face with a towel and tries to talk to Kristen.}
Will: “I swear to you that I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you first, but you don’t understand how big of an opportunity this is for me. That Coliseum is one step away from being in the main event of our Super Bowl... and I know I can win there this time.”
Kristen: “Is it worth throwing your life away? Because that’s what could happen if something goes wrong.”
Will: “I could get killed driving to the store tomorrow. You still have to take risks. You can’t let fear drive you.”
Kristen: “It’s not the same. Living life is something you have to do. This match isn’t a necessity for you to keep going on.”
Will: “I know it’s not, but it’s something I’ve been waiting my entire to do. I grew up idolizing the guys who did the stuff that I do now… and now I’ve got kids idolizing me.”
Kristen: “Will those kids support you if you go out there and break your neck?!”
Will: “I’m not going to break my neck…”
Kristen: “How can you be so sure Will?! How do you know something bad isn’t going to happen!?”
Will: “I don’t know for sure. I just have faith… and I wish you had the same faith in me.”
Kristen: “This isn’t about me believing in you. It’s about all of the circumstances we can’t control.”
{Will sits down at the edge of the bed next to his fiancé and puts his arm around her.}
Will: “But that’s life. We do our best to control what we can and then have faith that everything we can’t affect will work out for the best. I know I could go into that ring and come out on a stretcher, but I have faith that that won’t happen.”
Kristen: “I just don’t understand why you have to take this risk.”
Will: “Baby… if you don’t get it, you probably never will. I just need you to support me. If I go in that match knowing that you’re sitting at home expecting the worst… the worst will probably happen.”
Kristen: “There’s nothing I can do to change your mind, is there?”
Will: “Nope.”
{She lets out an exasperated sigh.}
Kristen: “I support you.”
{The two hug.}
Kristen: “Just come home in one piece.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________
“There’s been and will still be a lot of talk this week about who needs to win the most. Who HAS to win the Coliseum to prove something to not only the world, but to themselves. This is where I differ from the rest of you.. I don’t need to win this match. I don’t need to be the Gladiator. Heck, I don’t need NCW.”
“…. I want it.”
“Everyone’s got their own reason for needing to win, whether it be to save a dying career, to reassert their dominance, to finally break through to the upper echelon, or just to finally make a name for themselves. I don’t need any of that. The sun will come up for me on Monday morning and I’ll still have all of the things I love even if I don’t win this match. I don’t NEED any of this… and that’s my biggest advantage.”
“I don’t have the thousand pounds of pressure on my shoulders of having to prove anything to anybody with this match. I’m in it to win it because I WANT it more than anything in the world. Any pressure put on me is piled on by no one else other than myself. There’s nothing to weigh on me or hold me back from reaching my desired goals. No matter what happens at Sovereign, life will go on for me and it won’t hurt me at all.”
“…And everyone else is setting themselves up for failure.”
“Everyone is going into this match with the weight of a thousand thoughts on their mind… with the expecting glances of millions of fans staring right into their souls. I go into this with a clear head, valiant heart, and an absolute goal in mind. My back is against no walls, and I have no anchor dragging me down. Even with two Hall of Famers in this match, I still have to be considered the favorite to win the whole damn thing for these reasons. While everyone else is in there thinking about what they have to do to keep from disappointing themselves, I’m in there figuring out new ways to maim and inflict pain. So let their heads get heavy and let their chests fill with false bravado… it will only make them easier to catch.”
“In that cage there‘s no escape and there‘s no remorse. When the time for words is done and that sinking feeling hit’s the pits of your stomachs… We‘ll see exactly who the best man is.“
“…Spoiler: It's me.
{The scene opens inside of a well-furnished gym instead of the Washington household. We see Will working over a heavy bag that is being held in place by a familiar face from Will’s past, Rocky Kingman. Washington lights into the bag with a series of quick punches before grabbing it and laying in some knees. The NCW wrestler’s protégé is the first to speak.}
Rocky: “Woah. Hold on there man. You don’t want to overexert yourself.”
{The former soldier stops striking for a moment to respond to his pupil.}
Will: “Come on Rocky. I’m going to have go even harder than this is I plan on winning the Coliseum.”
Rocky: “You’re not going to be very effective in there if you’re already dead.”
Will: “I’m in the best shape of my life.”
Rocky: “You know they’re going to expect you to have ring rust. You could lure them into a false security with that.”
Will: “No. If they know what they’re up against it will throw them off of their game. I want them to know I’m better than ever.”
Rocky: “They’ll be shaking in their boots.”
{Will finishes up with the punching bag and heads over to the bench press, increasing the weight on the bar to three hundred and fifty pounds. He lays down on the bench and firmly grips the bar.}
Will: “Spot me.”
{Our hero lifts the weight and brings it down to his chest before pushing it back up. He does another rep… and slowly another. The camera pulls back and we see Will’s fiancé Kristen walk up and tap Rocky on the shoulder. Will starts to lose steam and needs some help with the bar, but he looks up to see his fiance looking at him with a death glare.}
Kristen: “The Coliseum?!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?”
Will: “I…. uh…. I….. I really….. need some….. help.”
Kristen: “You’ll get help once you explain yourself!”
{The weight is becoming unbearable and Rocky sidesteps Kristen to help Will get the bar back in place. An exhausted Will lays on the weight bench while he gets the third degree from his future wife.}
Kristen: “How could you agree to be in that match and not ask me first?!”
Will: “I…”
Kristen: “You should know how dangerous it is more than anyone! How could you be so reckless?”
Will: “I…”
Kristen: “We’re supposed to be building a life together and you go and make a giant decision without me? What were you thinking?”
Will: “….”
Kristen: “And another thing…”
{Will interrupts Kristen.}
Will: “Are you going to let me talk?”
Kristen: “You’ll talk when I tell you that you can talk!”
{She folds her arms and a moment of complete silence sweeps over.}
Kristen: “You can talk now.”
Will: “Kelly came up to me a few weeks ago and offered me a spot in the Coliseum. It was too good to pass up.”
Kristen: “You didn’t consult me at all.”
Will: “I wanted it to be a surprise.”
Kristen: “Well I was certainly surprised… and not in a good way.”
Will: “I’m sorry I didn’t ask you, but I had a limited amount of time to make a decision.”
Kristen: “You could have called me first!”
Will: “I didn’t have time!”
{Kristen moves around to stand in front of the bench, and Will sits up. She glares a hole in him with her arms still folded.}
Kristen: “I don’t like this at all.”
Will: “You’re the one who told me it was okay to go back to NCW in the first place.”
Kristen: “Yeah, but I didn’t tell you to sign your own death warrant!”
Will: “It’s not that serious. I’ve made it through before.”
Kristen: “Barely.”
Will: “Yeah, but I still made it out of there with my spine intact, and I expect nothing less this time around.”
Kristen: “This is not okay Will. No matter how much you try to rationalize it, what you did was wrong. We’re supposed to be a team!”
Will: “You can’t tell me to go back and then try and handcuff me. It’s not going to work like that. I know I didn’t ask you first, but it looks to me like you wouldn’t have said yes anyway.”
Kristen: “Of course I wouldn’t have. Only an idiot signs on for a match like that!”
Will: “Well I guess I’m an idiot then.”
Kristen: “I guess so.”
{Kristen storms out of the gym area and Will stands up with a look of pure fury. His protégé steps back in with an ‘oh ****!’ look on his face.}
Rocky: “Damn bro.”
{Will walks back over and starts striking the punching bag again with an intensity that can’t be matched.}
Will: “Whatever.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________
“Thanks for the history lesson Spike.”
“People like Ricky Johnson and Spike Kane are destined for failure. When you live in the past you miss the future, and that’s exactly what those two are doing. They want to focus all of their attention on the things I’ve accomplished in the past and lament on their own greatest successes instead of looking at the milestones that are still to come. Here’s the problem though boys… I don’t care about the past. I lived it once and I’ve learned from it, and in doing so, I’ve become a better man. I can’t give Ricky a pass for dwelling on the past, but it’s all Spike has…. So I guess it’s to be expected.”
“Oh Spike. My dear sweet Spike. That’s the best you can do? Take all valid points and simply chalk it up to being ‘butt hurt’? You’re an adult, right? You have to be, considering you gave us all your entire life story without anyone ever asking for it. After sitting through that neverending rambling, I’ve come to the conclusion that you must have been hit in the head too many time because honest to god I don’t know what the heck you were talking about? Basically the same thing you said last week? Ah yes, because that worked so well the first time.”
“You call me on my faults and then think it’s ludicrous when someone else calls you on your even more blatant misdeeds? That’s the most hypocritical thing I’ve seen since Johnny Dakota showed up at Bayside to shoot an anti-drug commercial. Yep. I just went all Saved By The Bell on you.”
“And I can understand how you’d get loyalty and pride confused with sucking up since it’s such an unknown concept to you. Someone who runs away at the first sight of opportunity is bound to not understand what it’s like to stay loyal to the place you call home. Maybe we’re just wired differently genetically or maybe we just see the world differently, but I’ll take being called an ‘ass-kisser’ over being a wishy-washy turncoat piece of trash any day of the week. So go ahead. Continue to cast aspersions against me. Label me anything you want, but when the time comes, don’t forget to include ‘two-time Coliseum winner’ in your colorful list of descriptions.”
“If you insist on giving us your own little slanted history lesson, allow me to tell you your future Spike. I don’t need tarot cards or even a Magic 8-Ball to tell you how things are going to go for you from now on. You’re going to keep flapping your gums and believing your own hype… and then Sunday is going to hit and you’re going to be out of your league. All of the old feelings are going to come back to you and the adrenaline will drive you… for a moment. Then the harsh realization will set in that you just can’t hang anymore. In your mind you still have a chance to reclaim prior glories, but in your heart you know all hope is lost. Everything you’ve worked so hard to build will crumble right in front of you.”
“Your focus on the past is only a half-hearted attempt to hide the fact that you fear your future. You know very well that this may be your one last chance at glory and it absolutely terrifies you. Time has passed you by and you’re doing all you can to turn a blind eye to a most bleak and depressing outlook. You can’t beat time and you can’t outrun the grim reaper… just ask any aging starlet in Hollywood. You can get botox, liposuction, and any nips and tucks your heart desires, but at the end of the day, you’re still only a few steps from your demise. That’s what this little quest is for you Spike… It’s another shot of botox in the decaying face of your career. Slowly but surely you’ll come to realize that your attempts at delaying the inevitable are only surviving to highlight your deepest wrinkles.”
“They say time heals all wounds, but that’s not entirely true. Sometimes time helps mend your mind, body, and soul… but sometimes those wounds fester when untreated. You’re putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound Spike…. And it’s only a matter of time before the legend of Spike Kane dies.”
“Come Sunday the embers of your career finally die out, and you’ll have no one to blame but yourself. You should have died with dignity, but you let foolish pride get in the way. A tragic end for a tragic tale.”
“Speaking of storybook endings, let’s talk about our Nation’s Champion. Ricky Johnson. I don’t think I need to say anything else about your track record here in the company, and I could certainly go the rest of my life without you recanting my history yet again. I get it. In your eyes I haven’t done anything of worth, and probably never will. Excuse me if I don’t call it quits right now just because Ricky Johnson doesn’t believe in me. I’ll do my best to move on without your blessing.”
“I do find it curious however, that during all of your talk of my past successes, you managed to skim over the most important note of all. See Ricky… we’ve done this same song and dance before. You were in the same very ring where I stood triumphant after defeating five other men and staking my rightful claim as Gladiator of NCW. You want to bring up the fact that I won that match and the fact that I didn’t capitalize on my momentum, but where did you go from there? What have you done since? I’ve sung your praises over your continued second-tier success, but according to you, nothing else you’ve done matters.”
“…I beg to differ.”
“You have done great things throughout your career, but somehow the World Title has eluded you. That fact doesn’t render your past successes moot, yet you say it so. I can understand your frustrations considering I’ve never achieved the highest level possible, but you can’t let frustrations rule your life. Maybe it’s all just a ploy to downgrade your history to amplify the impact if you won the Coliseum, but that’s for only you to know.”
“So you enter the Coliseum with your ever-growing list of title victories, again shooting for the ultimate prize. If this were the fairytale that you so greatly wish it to be, the consistent, lovable underdog would overcome all of the odds and slay all of the dragons to cement his name in the annals alongside the elite names in our company’s history. The hero Ricky Johnson would stand victorious with National Title in hand and the status as future World Champion filling his soul. Hollywood couldn‘t have written a better script.”
“Unfortunately for you, this isn’t a storybook.”
“The good guy doesn’t always win, and things don’t always work out for the better. The hero doesn’t always get the girl and things don’t wrap up conveniently in less than two hours. We can’t summarize a life time of struggle in a nice little marketable package, and your suffering will ultimately continue past our grand finale. The feel good ending may involve you vanquishing all of your demons, but you’re not the one writing this story.”
“…I am.”
“I’m the man who stares in the face of the hero and laughs. In the grand story of Ricky Johnson’s greatest win, there is one obstacle that can’t be overcome… one fire-breathing dragon that just can’t be beaten… one man set to ruin the perfect ending. Try as you might with everything you can… you can’t. No matter how desperate you are to craft the perfect story of one man’s triumph, at the end of the day, you have no control of it. Because in your life’s story you may be the hero, but when your story interferes with mine… the hero must meet a hero’s death. It won’t be pretty and it won’t be celebrated, but it’s only a hero’s nature to go out in a spectacular fashion… and it’s in the villain’s nature to facilitate your demise.”
“….I am the villain… and this is my story. There will be no happy ending for you. Only sadness, despair, bargaining, and my glorious victory. Do you know what thethe worst part will be for you Ricky? At least Spike got his moment in the sun before his tragic end… you were always blanketed by someone else’s shadow."
“…And that darkness will swallow you whole.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________
{After a while longer in the gym, we open back up with Will Washington walking into his bedroom where we see his fiancé sitting on the bed with her head in her hands. Will wipes the sweat from his face with a towel and tries to talk to Kristen.}
Will: “I swear to you that I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you first, but you don’t understand how big of an opportunity this is for me. That Coliseum is one step away from being in the main event of our Super Bowl... and I know I can win there this time.”
Kristen: “Is it worth throwing your life away? Because that’s what could happen if something goes wrong.”
Will: “I could get killed driving to the store tomorrow. You still have to take risks. You can’t let fear drive you.”
Kristen: “It’s not the same. Living life is something you have to do. This match isn’t a necessity for you to keep going on.”
Will: “I know it’s not, but it’s something I’ve been waiting my entire to do. I grew up idolizing the guys who did the stuff that I do now… and now I’ve got kids idolizing me.”
Kristen: “Will those kids support you if you go out there and break your neck?!”
Will: “I’m not going to break my neck…”
Kristen: “How can you be so sure Will?! How do you know something bad isn’t going to happen!?”
Will: “I don’t know for sure. I just have faith… and I wish you had the same faith in me.”
Kristen: “This isn’t about me believing in you. It’s about all of the circumstances we can’t control.”
{Will sits down at the edge of the bed next to his fiancé and puts his arm around her.}
Will: “But that’s life. We do our best to control what we can and then have faith that everything we can’t affect will work out for the best. I know I could go into that ring and come out on a stretcher, but I have faith that that won’t happen.”
Kristen: “I just don’t understand why you have to take this risk.”
Will: “Baby… if you don’t get it, you probably never will. I just need you to support me. If I go in that match knowing that you’re sitting at home expecting the worst… the worst will probably happen.”
Kristen: “There’s nothing I can do to change your mind, is there?”
Will: “Nope.”
{She lets out an exasperated sigh.}
Kristen: “I support you.”
{The two hug.}
Kristen: “Just come home in one piece.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________
“There’s been and will still be a lot of talk this week about who needs to win the most. Who HAS to win the Coliseum to prove something to not only the world, but to themselves. This is where I differ from the rest of you.. I don’t need to win this match. I don’t need to be the Gladiator. Heck, I don’t need NCW.”
“…. I want it.”
“Everyone’s got their own reason for needing to win, whether it be to save a dying career, to reassert their dominance, to finally break through to the upper echelon, or just to finally make a name for themselves. I don’t need any of that. The sun will come up for me on Monday morning and I’ll still have all of the things I love even if I don’t win this match. I don’t NEED any of this… and that’s my biggest advantage.”
“I don’t have the thousand pounds of pressure on my shoulders of having to prove anything to anybody with this match. I’m in it to win it because I WANT it more than anything in the world. Any pressure put on me is piled on by no one else other than myself. There’s nothing to weigh on me or hold me back from reaching my desired goals. No matter what happens at Sovereign, life will go on for me and it won’t hurt me at all.”
“…And everyone else is setting themselves up for failure.”
“Everyone is going into this match with the weight of a thousand thoughts on their mind… with the expecting glances of millions of fans staring right into their souls. I go into this with a clear head, valiant heart, and an absolute goal in mind. My back is against no walls, and I have no anchor dragging me down. Even with two Hall of Famers in this match, I still have to be considered the favorite to win the whole damn thing for these reasons. While everyone else is in there thinking about what they have to do to keep from disappointing themselves, I’m in there figuring out new ways to maim and inflict pain. So let their heads get heavy and let their chests fill with false bravado… it will only make them easier to catch.”
“In that cage there‘s no escape and there‘s no remorse. When the time for words is done and that sinking feeling hit’s the pits of your stomachs… We‘ll see exactly who the best man is.“
“…Spoiler: It's me.
