Post by Will Washington on Jun 16, 2012 18:05:34 GMT -6
{Our scene opens up with Will Washington sitting at a dining room table with his fiance, Kristen, her sister, and an unidentified wedding planner. On the table sits books, binders, and magazines showcasing wedding related items. As Kristen flips through the seemingly never-ending album of wedding dresses, her eyes light up when she sees one in particular that she fancies. Sliding the book towards her sister, she speaks.}
Kristen: “I think I found the one! It’s gorgeous!”
Jessica: “Ohmygosh it’s so pretty!”
{She holds the book up for Will to see.}
Kristen: “Will, you have to see this dress. It’s perfect!”
{Distracted, Will slowly looks up and glances at the dress before looking back down at his phone. In classic female fashion, Kristen notices his lack of enthusiasm.}
Will: “Oh yeah. It’s nice.”
Kristen: “Will! You barely even looked up. You do realize how important this decision is, right?”
Will: “Uh huh.”
Wedding Planner: “It looks like he’s got other things on his mind. It doesn’t look like he’s taking this too seriously…”
{Will catches the smug comment and shoots the man a glare.}
Will: “I’ve got a big match this weekend, so I apologize if my head isn’t fully in this mindless wedding chatter.”
Jessica: “Oh that’s nice…”
Wedding Planner: “Really…”
Will: “Shut up Derrick. I’m not paying you to criticize me.”
Wedding Planner: “My name isn’t Derrick. It’s Kevin.”
Will: “Derrick… Kevin… whatever. You’re not an important enough character for me to worry about remembering your name.”
{The wedding planner looks offended, and Kristen decides to intervene.}
Kristen: “I know you have a wrestling match on Sunday, but if you think about it too much, you’re just going to psych yourself out. What better way to get your mind off of it than to weigh in on the band versus DJ debate?”
Will: “Is it really that important?”
Kristen: “Of course it’s important! It’s your wedding!”
{Will lays his phone down on the table and looks over at his future bride.}
Will: “I don’t care if we have a band or a DJ. I don’t care if we serve a buffet or fixed portions. I don’t care if it’s indoors or outside. All that matter is that you’re there, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life with you.”
{Jessica and the wedding planner let out a combined ‘AWWWWWWWWWWW!’ at the sound of the romantic words. Kristen, however, doesn’t react as strongly.}
Kristen: “Don’t try and be sweet just to get out of wedding planning duty. What movie did you steal that line from anyway?”
{Will laughs.}
Will: “I don’t know. Something that was on Starz the other night.”
{Jessica reaches over and punches Will in the arm, and he feigns pain before picking his phone back off the table and looking back at the screen.}
Kristen: “Come on Will. Seriously. Band or DJ?”
Will: “I’ll book the band. Don’t worry about it.”
Kristen: “Good.”
{As the wedding chatter picks back up between the sisters and the planner, we zoom down towards Will’s phone to find that he is watching his match against Andrew Jacobsen from A Night To Remember on Youtube. He watches as Jacobsen locks in the Sharpshooter, and he desperately tries to fight out of it. As he succumbs to the pain, Kristen has another question for him.}
Kristen: “Now in terms of the guest list… Who do you want to invite?”
Jessica: “It’s not like he has a lot of friends…”
Kristen: “Hey!”
Will: “She’s not lying though.”
Kristen: “Still. It isn’t a very nice thing to say.”
Will: “Eh. Obviously Tori and Rocky have to be invited with their plus-ones. Xavier and the kids have to be there. Adam’s my bro, so he’s a definite invite. Kelly and Ryleigh…. I’d like Falcon and Steve to be there, but I understand if they can’t make it. Brad Kane…”
Kristen: “Brad Kane? I thought you didn’t get along with him.”
Will: “I don’t really, but he did help me out a lot in my early career… And I’d like to invite Andrew Jacobsen.”
{The room goes silent as that sinks in.}
Will: “I know, I know. It’s weird. Still though.”
Kristen: “Alright….. And what about your parents?”
{Again, cold silence. Will’s mind races a mile a minute as he thinks about the question posed to him. After gulping down the lump in his throat, he has his answer.}
Will: “… Sure. I guess it would have to happen sooner or later.”
{Kristen reaches over and hugs the man.}
Kristen: “Aww. This is huge for you.”
Will: “I know… I think this whole thing with AJ has taught me how important family can be.”
Kristen: “I guess we owe him a thank you then?”
{We fade from our scene for now.}
_____________________________________________________________________________________
“Good things come to those who wait.’ Anyone with parents, grandparents, or any sort of adult influences growing up has undoubtedly heard that phrase ad nauseam in their lives. Any time you get anxious or tried to jump the gun, there’s someone always waiting to share that little piece of knowledge with you, whether you asked for it or not. I have not a doubt in my mind that Jason and Andrea Jacobsen engrained that nugget in the mind of their sons in their youth, because even today it seems Andrew subscribes to this theory. He’s been waiting around NCW for years, biding his time and hoping that his talent would finally be recognized by the decision-makers of this company. Grinning and bearing it as he got passed over time after time. He’s been here for three years and never once sniffed a World Title shot, and yet, he keeps waiting for good things to happen to him. Ignorance is bliss and you’ve proven time and time again that you’re perfectly fine to remain ignorant to the fact that you’ll never do anything in your current position. And the worst thing of all?”
“…. I used to be the same way.”
“Yes indeed. After fighting and fighting to finally get my taste of success, what did I do? I started to play the role of the conquering hero. I kissed babies and sang the praises of doing things ‘the right way’. I put my body on the line in the Warfare Match to defend NCW against the Front Office, and how did I benefit from that? I didn’t. NCW benefited from my blood, sweat, and tears, and didn’t even consider rewarding me for my efforts. This business chews most of us up and spits us out, leaving us broken and beaten old men with nothing to show for it. The chosen few get the chance to ascend to the precipice of the wrestling world, but only when the people in charge decide it’s their time. I don’t know about you Andrew, but I’m done letting someone else decide when it’s my time to shine.”
“….. and no one will tell me otherwise.”
“I control my own destiny from here on out. You don’t like what I have to say? Get used to it, because nobody is going to shut me up. I WAS like you before Andrew, but now? I’m a whole different animal. You see AJ, I grew up. I took a step back from NCW and looked at the landscape of the company, and I realized that it just isn’t worth it to try and be the hero. Who do you think has the harder life: Batman or the Joker? I can move freely and do whatever I want while you have to worry about your reputation, and who fans and management will see you. While you plot your next move carefully, trying desperately to keep on peoples’ good sides, I stay four, five, six steps ahead of you. I tried to save you from the life you live, and you spit in my face. So now it’s time for you to pay the piper.”
“…. and a heavy toll if will be.”
“You’ve got this weird habit of rebuffing and turning against everyone who ever takes an interest in your career to try and help you. Steve Awesome, Rob Diamond, The Young Guns, and myself. Each person looked at you as someone who could be a start with the right direction and guidance, and you never failed to manage to turn back every attempt to help you. You let foolish pride lead your way instead of the men much wiser than you. You call yourself the ‘North Star’, but it’s not the Polaris that guides your way, but the stubbornness and self-righteousness that will always lead you nowhere. So instead of wrestling in main events around the world, you stand across from the one man with your best interests at heart. The one man who could help you the most is now the one who can hurt you the most. It’s funny how things work out that way. Some would call it fate that we’d end up as blood rivals, and some would call it irony. However you choose to believe this collision course came to be, you have to realize that there’s no greater force at play here. Only two men who don’t seem eye to eye, ready to tear each other apart for the sake of pride.”
“…. Pride.”
“I’ve never been a prideful person. I’ve done things that I wish I could forget, and the medals and accomplishments heaped upon me for them are only harsh reminders of innocence lost. I became privy to the world much sooner than most, and I tried to break that news to Andrew and he was less than receptive. I embarrassed him at Crossroads and he still didn’t believe. I gave him another chance to listen to what I had to say and what did he do? Exactly as I had done to him. By happenstance, he managed to make me look like a fool… a loser… at A Night to Remember. In front of my fiancé and the entire wrestling world, he made me tap out like the man I never wanted to be. On that night Andrew Jacobsen the better wrestler than me… he damaged my pride. I don’t care what you people think of me, but I do care what I think of myself… and on that fateful night, I wasn’t who I said I was. You made me look like a common liar, AJ. So I sat at home for a few days and honestly, I felt sorry for myself. I mean… if Andrew Jacobsen can beat me on the biggest night of the year, who’s to say that anybody can’t? Was Jack Wilde going to show up and beat me at Picture Perfect as well? God only knows how wrong I’d been about myself all of these years. I was staring my own mortality right in the eyes… but then a slow realization washed over me and one thing became crystal clear. Andrew Jacobsen was better than me on one night… I’m better than him the other three hundred and sixty four days of the year.”
“… and then I moved on.”
“So basically what I’m saying to you AJ, is that if you think history is going to repeat itself on Sunday, you’re sadly mistaken. Unlike you, I learn from my mistakes. I let you embarrass me, and then I went out the next week and beat Lex Sense in the middle of the very same ring. You beat me and you tried to coast on that victory, only to find yourself on the losing end of match after match. Maybe I’m in your head more than you’re willing to admit? Maybe, just maybe, you’re so worried about what hell I’m going to put you through at Reborn that you can’t even focus on mindless tasks like wrestling Joe Everyman. Whatever the case may be, you’re still in the same position you were before you beat me. A career-making win, wasted yet again by the lowly Andrew Jacobsen. Why? Because good things come to those who wait? Because patience is a virtue?”
“Patience isn’t a virtue. It’s a scapegoat… an excuse for people to idle their way through life just because of the promise of brighter days is there. Whether it’s fear or optimism, that isn’t up for me to decide. The real decision on my hands this weekend is the fate of Andrew Jacobsen. Because when he steps into that ring, I’m judge…. I’m jury…”
“…. and I’m the executioner.”
“There’s no more time to wait around, Andrew. The time for our final showdown is near, and I’m as focused as ever. You may think you’re something of a mat technician, but come Sunday, you enter my domain. Submissions Count Anywhere. I’ve already shown you that I’m willing to take the battle anywhere necessary, and you’ve shown the same… but are you really ready to put it all on the line? Good things truly don’t come to those that wait… Only pain, punishment, and misfortune. And if you’re afraid? Well… I’ll bring the fight to you… and I know you won’t back down from a fight.”
“… because your pride won’t let you. … and THAT will be your downfall.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________
{A while later after Kristen’s sister and the planner have left, Kristen straightens up the papers and pictures on the table as Will looks on in silence. Kristen notices his quiet demeanor.}
Kristen: “Something on your mind?”
{He looks up.}
Will: “It’s just… this whole wedding planning thing and it’s got me thinking about how great my life is right now.”
Kristen: “You don’t look happy though.”
Will: “I’m happy. I just have a lot on my mind. I feel like there’s one more thing I have to do before Sunday.”
Kristen: “Which is?”
Will: “There’s a phone call I have to make.”
Kristen: “A business call?”
Will: “You could say that.”
Kristen: “Well hurry up and make it. We’re supposed to meet my parents for dinner at six.”
{Will heads off to another room with his phone and brings quickly scrolls through it, looking for a number. He makes his selection and brings it to his head. After a few rings, someone answers.}
Will: “I know I’m the last person you want to talk to, but I’m calling with good intentions. I have to right a wrong…”
{We fade to black with those words lingering in our minds.}
Edit was to fix a minor coding issue.
Kristen: “I think I found the one! It’s gorgeous!”
Jessica: “Ohmygosh it’s so pretty!”
{She holds the book up for Will to see.}
Kristen: “Will, you have to see this dress. It’s perfect!”
{Distracted, Will slowly looks up and glances at the dress before looking back down at his phone. In classic female fashion, Kristen notices his lack of enthusiasm.}
Will: “Oh yeah. It’s nice.”
Kristen: “Will! You barely even looked up. You do realize how important this decision is, right?”
Will: “Uh huh.”
Wedding Planner: “It looks like he’s got other things on his mind. It doesn’t look like he’s taking this too seriously…”
{Will catches the smug comment and shoots the man a glare.}
Will: “I’ve got a big match this weekend, so I apologize if my head isn’t fully in this mindless wedding chatter.”
Jessica: “Oh that’s nice…”
Wedding Planner: “Really…”
Will: “Shut up Derrick. I’m not paying you to criticize me.”
Wedding Planner: “My name isn’t Derrick. It’s Kevin.”
Will: “Derrick… Kevin… whatever. You’re not an important enough character for me to worry about remembering your name.”
{The wedding planner looks offended, and Kristen decides to intervene.}
Kristen: “I know you have a wrestling match on Sunday, but if you think about it too much, you’re just going to psych yourself out. What better way to get your mind off of it than to weigh in on the band versus DJ debate?”
Will: “Is it really that important?”
Kristen: “Of course it’s important! It’s your wedding!”
{Will lays his phone down on the table and looks over at his future bride.}
Will: “I don’t care if we have a band or a DJ. I don’t care if we serve a buffet or fixed portions. I don’t care if it’s indoors or outside. All that matter is that you’re there, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life with you.”
{Jessica and the wedding planner let out a combined ‘AWWWWWWWWWWW!’ at the sound of the romantic words. Kristen, however, doesn’t react as strongly.}
Kristen: “Don’t try and be sweet just to get out of wedding planning duty. What movie did you steal that line from anyway?”
{Will laughs.}
Will: “I don’t know. Something that was on Starz the other night.”
{Jessica reaches over and punches Will in the arm, and he feigns pain before picking his phone back off the table and looking back at the screen.}
Kristen: “Come on Will. Seriously. Band or DJ?”
Will: “I’ll book the band. Don’t worry about it.”
Kristen: “Good.”
{As the wedding chatter picks back up between the sisters and the planner, we zoom down towards Will’s phone to find that he is watching his match against Andrew Jacobsen from A Night To Remember on Youtube. He watches as Jacobsen locks in the Sharpshooter, and he desperately tries to fight out of it. As he succumbs to the pain, Kristen has another question for him.}
Kristen: “Now in terms of the guest list… Who do you want to invite?”
Jessica: “It’s not like he has a lot of friends…”
Kristen: “Hey!”
Will: “She’s not lying though.”
Kristen: “Still. It isn’t a very nice thing to say.”
Will: “Eh. Obviously Tori and Rocky have to be invited with their plus-ones. Xavier and the kids have to be there. Adam’s my bro, so he’s a definite invite. Kelly and Ryleigh…. I’d like Falcon and Steve to be there, but I understand if they can’t make it. Brad Kane…”
Kristen: “Brad Kane? I thought you didn’t get along with him.”
Will: “I don’t really, but he did help me out a lot in my early career… And I’d like to invite Andrew Jacobsen.”
{The room goes silent as that sinks in.}
Will: “I know, I know. It’s weird. Still though.”
Kristen: “Alright….. And what about your parents?”
{Again, cold silence. Will’s mind races a mile a minute as he thinks about the question posed to him. After gulping down the lump in his throat, he has his answer.}
Will: “… Sure. I guess it would have to happen sooner or later.”
{Kristen reaches over and hugs the man.}
Kristen: “Aww. This is huge for you.”
Will: “I know… I think this whole thing with AJ has taught me how important family can be.”
Kristen: “I guess we owe him a thank you then?”
{We fade from our scene for now.}
_____________________________________________________________________________________
“Good things come to those who wait.’ Anyone with parents, grandparents, or any sort of adult influences growing up has undoubtedly heard that phrase ad nauseam in their lives. Any time you get anxious or tried to jump the gun, there’s someone always waiting to share that little piece of knowledge with you, whether you asked for it or not. I have not a doubt in my mind that Jason and Andrea Jacobsen engrained that nugget in the mind of their sons in their youth, because even today it seems Andrew subscribes to this theory. He’s been waiting around NCW for years, biding his time and hoping that his talent would finally be recognized by the decision-makers of this company. Grinning and bearing it as he got passed over time after time. He’s been here for three years and never once sniffed a World Title shot, and yet, he keeps waiting for good things to happen to him. Ignorance is bliss and you’ve proven time and time again that you’re perfectly fine to remain ignorant to the fact that you’ll never do anything in your current position. And the worst thing of all?”
“…. I used to be the same way.”
“Yes indeed. After fighting and fighting to finally get my taste of success, what did I do? I started to play the role of the conquering hero. I kissed babies and sang the praises of doing things ‘the right way’. I put my body on the line in the Warfare Match to defend NCW against the Front Office, and how did I benefit from that? I didn’t. NCW benefited from my blood, sweat, and tears, and didn’t even consider rewarding me for my efforts. This business chews most of us up and spits us out, leaving us broken and beaten old men with nothing to show for it. The chosen few get the chance to ascend to the precipice of the wrestling world, but only when the people in charge decide it’s their time. I don’t know about you Andrew, but I’m done letting someone else decide when it’s my time to shine.”
“….. and no one will tell me otherwise.”
“I control my own destiny from here on out. You don’t like what I have to say? Get used to it, because nobody is going to shut me up. I WAS like you before Andrew, but now? I’m a whole different animal. You see AJ, I grew up. I took a step back from NCW and looked at the landscape of the company, and I realized that it just isn’t worth it to try and be the hero. Who do you think has the harder life: Batman or the Joker? I can move freely and do whatever I want while you have to worry about your reputation, and who fans and management will see you. While you plot your next move carefully, trying desperately to keep on peoples’ good sides, I stay four, five, six steps ahead of you. I tried to save you from the life you live, and you spit in my face. So now it’s time for you to pay the piper.”
“…. and a heavy toll if will be.”
“You’ve got this weird habit of rebuffing and turning against everyone who ever takes an interest in your career to try and help you. Steve Awesome, Rob Diamond, The Young Guns, and myself. Each person looked at you as someone who could be a start with the right direction and guidance, and you never failed to manage to turn back every attempt to help you. You let foolish pride lead your way instead of the men much wiser than you. You call yourself the ‘North Star’, but it’s not the Polaris that guides your way, but the stubbornness and self-righteousness that will always lead you nowhere. So instead of wrestling in main events around the world, you stand across from the one man with your best interests at heart. The one man who could help you the most is now the one who can hurt you the most. It’s funny how things work out that way. Some would call it fate that we’d end up as blood rivals, and some would call it irony. However you choose to believe this collision course came to be, you have to realize that there’s no greater force at play here. Only two men who don’t seem eye to eye, ready to tear each other apart for the sake of pride.”
“…. Pride.”
“I’ve never been a prideful person. I’ve done things that I wish I could forget, and the medals and accomplishments heaped upon me for them are only harsh reminders of innocence lost. I became privy to the world much sooner than most, and I tried to break that news to Andrew and he was less than receptive. I embarrassed him at Crossroads and he still didn’t believe. I gave him another chance to listen to what I had to say and what did he do? Exactly as I had done to him. By happenstance, he managed to make me look like a fool… a loser… at A Night to Remember. In front of my fiancé and the entire wrestling world, he made me tap out like the man I never wanted to be. On that night Andrew Jacobsen the better wrestler than me… he damaged my pride. I don’t care what you people think of me, but I do care what I think of myself… and on that fateful night, I wasn’t who I said I was. You made me look like a common liar, AJ. So I sat at home for a few days and honestly, I felt sorry for myself. I mean… if Andrew Jacobsen can beat me on the biggest night of the year, who’s to say that anybody can’t? Was Jack Wilde going to show up and beat me at Picture Perfect as well? God only knows how wrong I’d been about myself all of these years. I was staring my own mortality right in the eyes… but then a slow realization washed over me and one thing became crystal clear. Andrew Jacobsen was better than me on one night… I’m better than him the other three hundred and sixty four days of the year.”
“… and then I moved on.”
“So basically what I’m saying to you AJ, is that if you think history is going to repeat itself on Sunday, you’re sadly mistaken. Unlike you, I learn from my mistakes. I let you embarrass me, and then I went out the next week and beat Lex Sense in the middle of the very same ring. You beat me and you tried to coast on that victory, only to find yourself on the losing end of match after match. Maybe I’m in your head more than you’re willing to admit? Maybe, just maybe, you’re so worried about what hell I’m going to put you through at Reborn that you can’t even focus on mindless tasks like wrestling Joe Everyman. Whatever the case may be, you’re still in the same position you were before you beat me. A career-making win, wasted yet again by the lowly Andrew Jacobsen. Why? Because good things come to those who wait? Because patience is a virtue?”
“Patience isn’t a virtue. It’s a scapegoat… an excuse for people to idle their way through life just because of the promise of brighter days is there. Whether it’s fear or optimism, that isn’t up for me to decide. The real decision on my hands this weekend is the fate of Andrew Jacobsen. Because when he steps into that ring, I’m judge…. I’m jury…”
“…. and I’m the executioner.”
“There’s no more time to wait around, Andrew. The time for our final showdown is near, and I’m as focused as ever. You may think you’re something of a mat technician, but come Sunday, you enter my domain. Submissions Count Anywhere. I’ve already shown you that I’m willing to take the battle anywhere necessary, and you’ve shown the same… but are you really ready to put it all on the line? Good things truly don’t come to those that wait… Only pain, punishment, and misfortune. And if you’re afraid? Well… I’ll bring the fight to you… and I know you won’t back down from a fight.”
“… because your pride won’t let you. … and THAT will be your downfall.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________
{A while later after Kristen’s sister and the planner have left, Kristen straightens up the papers and pictures on the table as Will looks on in silence. Kristen notices his quiet demeanor.}
Kristen: “Something on your mind?”
{He looks up.}
Will: “It’s just… this whole wedding planning thing and it’s got me thinking about how great my life is right now.”
Kristen: “You don’t look happy though.”
Will: “I’m happy. I just have a lot on my mind. I feel like there’s one more thing I have to do before Sunday.”
Kristen: “Which is?”
Will: “There’s a phone call I have to make.”
Kristen: “A business call?”
Will: “You could say that.”
Kristen: “Well hurry up and make it. We’re supposed to meet my parents for dinner at six.”
{Will heads off to another room with his phone and brings quickly scrolls through it, looking for a number. He makes his selection and brings it to his head. After a few rings, someone answers.}
Will: “I know I’m the last person you want to talk to, but I’m calling with good intentions. I have to right a wrong…”
{We fade to black with those words lingering in our minds.}
Edit was to fix a minor coding issue.
