Post by The Ace on Dec 10, 2012 16:16:41 GMT -6
The scene opens with Kathleen Conway and her younger sister Tiffany in the family room of the luxurious Las Vegas Conway home, both sisters are sat on the couch, Kathy with her youngest daughter, Domino sat in her lap.
Tiffany runs a hand through her now dyed dark brown hair, and looks expectantly at her elder sister.
Tiffany: Well, what do you think, Kay?
Kathy: I see you've gone darker again, for someone special is it?
Kathy smirks, clearly they both knew the answer to that.
Tiffany: Do you think he'll like it?
Kathy: If he doesn't, you always have that rake handy...
Both sisters laugh at this.
Kathy: So the boys aren't here, now you can tell me about how it all went. Please spare no detail...
Tiffany: Oh, Caleb's such a sweetheart, who knew he could be so attentive? He brought us tickets to Le Reve.
Kathy: Oh, that's very cool. Always wanted to go, but Jake and I haven't really had the chance, the company schedule being what it is, we're never here long enough...maybe the next time NCW has a show here....
Tiffany: Yeah. He also brought me the most gorgeous tanzanite teardrop necklace I've ever seen...
Kathy: Really? It's always nice when they go that extra mile to make it even more special, I remember last year Jake brought me these diamond ear-rings...
Kathy gestures to the dangling ear-rings she is currently wearing, in stark contrast to Kathy, Tiffany didn't like to flaunt the gifts she received, especially when they came from somebody who meant something to her.
After dinner with Caleb, she had come home and almost immediately tucked the precious necklace in her grandwother's old antique jewellery box, where she kept all the real precious gems of her life, including the ear-rings that had started this latest chapter of her rather adventurous love-life.
Tiffany blinked out of her reflection, and her ears retuned to her sister's gushing recollection of her precious birthday gift from Jake.
Kathy: ...and he absolutely insisted that such an obvious gift wasn't because he was running out of ideas, but because diamond is my birthstone, it really was soooo adorable watching him uncomfortably flinch like that, almost as if diamond ear-rings weren't good enough for me and they were a last minute apology and concession....
Tiffany: Only Jake Conway would feel guilty that he perhaps had not spent quite enough money to adequately express his love...only Jake Conway would concede that sometimes diamonds weren't enough...
Kathy laughs.
Kathy: Yeah, I guess you're right, that is so him...
Tiffany cocked her head as her sister's words struck her with a thought.
You're right, Kay. That is so Jake Conway. The whole thing was. The dinner at the fine restaurant, the extravagant gifts, somehow it didn't feel like the real Caleb Lockwood. It felt like he was trying to fit into some sort of predetermined mould as the next Jake Conway rather than concentrating on being the first Caleb Lockwood.
No wonder he felt so uncomfortable in that shirt, it wasn't Caleb's idea, it was Jake's. I wonder just how much of our date was real and not just some pale imitation of a date with my dear brother-in-law?
The scene opens inside a local gym where The Ace and Caleb are about to step into a practice ring for a training session, when a couple of familar faces find them. Callie Jacobsen tries to stop her older brother, but Andrew Jacobsen seems rather pissed off and on the warpath as he gets in The Ace's face. Caleb just watches from the sidelines.
Jacobsen: What the hell do you think you are doing?
The Ace looks around the gym and the wrestling ring.
The Ace: Isn't it obvious?
Jacobsen: Funny, real funny, Jake. I mean with my baby sister! I know what this is Conway, some ploy to use my sister to further your own agenda whatever that is...maybe you're still pissed that I chewed your ass out over that tag match a couple of weeks ago, and you're just trying to get even...
The Ace turns to Caleb.
The Ace: Can you believe this guy? I give his baby sister a job, I try to open a few doors and help an ambitious and talented young woman find a way to fulfill her dreams and all her brother can see is some evil plot to get back at him?
The Ace turns back to Andrew Jacobsen.
The Ace: Just how petty do you think I am? You know for a man who lives his life through nothing but good intentions, you sure have a hard time seeing them when they are right infront of you. Have you forgotten that I live with your greatest fan? There is no conspiracy, no ulterior motive. I have a business relationship with Callie, that's all. You have my word...
Andrew doesn't seem utterly convinced, but since he as yet had no evidence to prove anything to the contrary, he conceded with a simple nod, before walking off to collect his thoughts.
Callie watches her brother leave and then steps closer to The Ace.
Callie: I'm so sorry Mr Conway, I tried to stop him.
The Ace: A word of advice Miss Jacobsen, if you want to keep your job and all the power and privilege that comes with it, I suggest you get your house in order....
Callie concedes with a simple nod.
Callie: I'm sorry, Mr Conway. I promise it'll never happen again.
The Ace simply nods and smiles.
The Ace: Now if you'll excuse me, I have a protege to prepare for our tag team match on Saturday...
Callie nods, and walks off in the direction of her brother, somewhat annoyed by his outburst herself.
The Ace turns to Caleb.
The Ace: Shall we?
Caleb nods as he steps into the ring.
Caleb: That was intense, Mr C.
The Ace steps into the ring with a smile.
The Ace: If you think that was intense, I'm about to redefine the word for you. Come on then Caleb, you always say I don't teach you nearly enough, let's see what you've got.
Caleb does a few jumps on the spot to warm himself up, he cracks his neck as he prepares to lock up with his mentor and nearly ten year veteran of the sport.
Caleb: I got this....
Caleb steps forward and locks up with The Ace, who surprises the smaller man by kicking him in the gut and whilst he is doubled over isolating Caleb's right arm and taking him down with a reverse armbar, but instead of maintaing the hold for more than a couple of moments, The Ace rolls through to Caleb's legs and applies an Ankle Lock. Caleb screams resisting the pain with a defiant shake of his head.
The Ace: Lesson 1 - Be prepared to call your opponent's bluff and beat him to it. Sucker them in to your game and change the rules when they least expect it.
The Ace releases the hold.
The Ace: So Caleb, describe to me what you remember of how Tiffany looked on your first date the other night?
Caleb gets to his feet and shakes his leg, thankfully the hold had not been applied for long enough for numbness to settle in. Caleb looks very confused.
Caleb: Mr C?
The Ace: Trust me...
Caleb: Well she looked stunning, radiant, gorgeous, totally out of my league...
The Ace: Well I already knew that, I mean what was she wearing. Details, my boy, details...
Caleb then is whipped across the ring by the Ace.
Caleb: Uh, she was wearing a black dress...
Caleb ducks a clothesline attempt, and answers with one of his own.
Caleb: Very beautiful, plunging neckline, a slit up the side, it almost knocked me out of my shoes...
Caleb grins as he helps his mentor back to his feet, and as soon as The Ace finds his feet, Caleb tries a low kick to The Ace's shin, but the veteran blocks it and grabs the leg and flips Caleb onto his back with a Dragon Screw, before transitioning almost seamlessly into a Figure 4 Leg Lock.
The Ace: Lesson 2 - Stick to your train of thought, don't allow yourself to get thrown off or distracted, if you find a focal point to concentrate on, like say how sexy Tiffany looked and can still have enough concentration left to realise there's still a match going on you're less likely to get easily distracted. Now don't just lie there, reverse it, reverse it, by the grace of God. Reverse it!
Caleb tries with all his might to reverse the bigger man's hold, slowly, slowly he gets The Ace to his side, but no further, as The Ace flips him back over, Caleb defiantly shakes his head, and through squinted eyes looks around him for a reprieve, then he sees a white middle rope above him, just within reach and grabs it firmly, white as the light of salvation itself.
The Ace laughs as he releases the hold.
The Ace: Good. Very Good. Consider that Lesson 3 of your long overdue technical education, when brawn fails, brains will save you...
Caleb smiles inspite of the pain in his legs, The Ace was actually teaching him first hand some of the lessons only a veteran learns in this business and it had not escaped his notice that The Ace was instructing him with key moves from Harper's arsenal. The cunning British bastard did care about him after all.
True to his word, as the lessons wore on and they discussed strategy between exchanges for Captain Howdy, The Ace had indeed taught him a new meaning to the word intense.
The Ace: ...I know I've focused on my preferred style here, but never forget what brought you to the dance either Caleb, you are a high flyer, you have the speed advantage over all of us in this match. That is your greatest advantage. Use it. If they can't catch you, they can't ground you, and if they can't ground you, you remain the Master of Gravity. Dogs can chase cars all day long but if they never catch them, they'll never be in the driving seat...
Do you believe me yet?
I told you all that the Kelly-Bertie regime wasn't as bad for business as some of you self-proclaimed saviours have tried to make it out to be. Ever since Verona's T-shirts new T-shirts went on sale last week, I've been asked several times:
"Hey Ace, why are you a Roberto Verona guy?"
And my response is simple. If you have to ask that question, you clearly haven't been paying close enough attention to all he's been doing for the company even in his short tenure as Champion. Contrary to what the heroes like Nathan Webb, Mike Laszlo and Xavier Cross would have you believe, we are not the bad guys here. We never have been. We love this company. Maybe even a little bit too much at times. If you want to accuse us of anything, accuse us of that and we will all hold our hands up and be the first to declare ourselves guilty.
For months and months now, so many people have taken up the mantle against the regime, demanding change, demanding an end to corruption, demanding that the new blood be given a fair shake and that the veterans step aside.
The Ace opens his arms wide.
Well, here you are. This is what you wanted. No Spike Kanes, Falcons or Steve Awesomes taking up the spots you felt should belong to you. Slowly but surely the landscape of NCW is changing and whilst I can appreciate that maybe its not fast enough for some of you - the impatient few who still insist on waging a war that we never started - it is happening. Look, finally we heard you. Alex Jones wanted his opportunity to prove he could stand shoulder to shoulder with World Champions, we've inspired him to refocus himself and last week he defeated two former World Champions in one of the biggest matches of his career and we were all so impressed that this week, Kelly granted his wish. He has a match against the World Champion. He is in the Collision Main Event. He wanted his opportunity, he got it, courtesy of the very regime only idiots still protest.
Mike Laszlo. Yet more new blood, hand picked by Roberto himself, and still not forgotten in spite of his recent failure to capture the World Heavyweight Championship. He is still a fresh face in the main event scene, just like you all wanted, so what on God's green Earth are some of you still complaining about?
If you're still not convinced that this regime is all about opening doors rather than closing them, consider the door I myself have opened for young Callie Jacobsen and rather than just be happy for his sister and the great opportunity she has, her brother Andrew still wants to see me as some evil moustache-twirling villain...
The Ace points to his top lip.
Look Andy, no moustache, so please stop trying to paint one on me. You all want fresh faces, you all want new stars, you all want to see the future of this company given a shot to showcase their talents, look at the match I find myself in this week. This match isn't about me. This match isn't about The Ace and his second National Championship. This match is a platform for the new and rising stars of NCW, whether they're my personal protege Caleb Lockwood, veterans new to this company that sound like rejects from an aborted Toy Story script like Captain Howdy, or men of devine aspirations like Ladanian Harper.
You wanted fresh eggs in the basket? Well they get no fresher. Admittedly some of you might feel cheated given that this match features a failed children's TV host who still hasn't worked out his issues after apparently sixteen years in this business, but we all know that NCW policy is to reset the match counter as far as they are concerned, regardless of your past accomplishments. Like it or not Howdy, this isn't Year Sixteen, this is Year One and I for one am excited to see what you bring to the table.
Ladanian Harper, a man of God, hardly an original schtick these days, but then so little in this business ever is. Some might see you as the stand in for Ken Davison or a poor man's Gabriel Karras, but I know those names mean nothing to you, and they shouldn't - for you this shouldn't be about standing in the shadows of somebody else but rather about standing proudly in the spotlight just as you stand proudly in the light of God.
I won't lie Harper, after the show I saw you put on last week, against a former World Champion no less, I'm expecting so much from you this week. I'm expecting you to transcend all the tropes, I'm expecting you to spare me the cliches of how God and Evolution are naturally at odds or how I'm just a filthy sinner in need of absolution because I live in Vegas and enjoy the odd flutter at the Poker or Blackjack table. If you can do no better than to tell me of how you are here to purge my soul or to punish the wicked, I will make sure that the Right Hand of God is humbled and remembered as little more than the Left Testicle of Goat.
Don't believe me?
How coincidental because I don't believe in Him either. He has let me down once too many times, but I still have faith in you Harper. I'm still prepared to believe. You can make a believer out of me Harper. You can make a believer out of Caleb Lockwood. You can make a believer out of Captain Howdy. You can make a believer out of us all, from the cameramen to the commentators, from the referees to the repentant souls lost in the crowd of thosands in the arena and the millions more at home that will watch you and Captain Howdy step into the spotlight against a former World Champion and the current reigning two time National Champion. You are His Disciple. I have my own.
You see the light and that it is good.
I see the light and that it is blinding.
Don't close your eyes, or you will miss it.
Caleb stands in the door way of Tiffany's bedroom, where she is sat on the bed with her grandmother's jewellery box in her lap as the beholds the necklace sparkling in the light.
Caleb: You wanted to see me?
Tiffany simply nods before patting the bed and a spot next to her, inviting him to sit down. Caleb cautiously obliges her, shutting the door behind him.
Tiffany: Caleb, do you know why I fell in love with you?
Caleb shakes his head.
Caleb: I still haven't worked it out.
Tiffany smiles.
Tiffany: I fell in love with you because you're such a breath of fresh air around here. All this luxury, it really isn't my style, it never has been. Kay, she's the one who enjoys being married to a man who has the means and the resources to keep her in the manner in which she has become accustomed. She was the superstar, even when we were kids. The one who enjoyed the comfortable wealth and social status that came with being the daughter of a high powered judge and a police captain. While she went on to follow in daddy's footsteps and get a Masters degree to make the family proud before she met Jake, I took a more humble road. I got myself a degree in Economics sure, but I took a job as a bank clerk. It wasn't glorious, but it was fulfilling....
Tiffany pauses as she takes his hand in hers and looks deeply into his eyes.
Tiffany: In the crowd of ordinary people, just going about their business, requesting loans and mortgages, I felt I could get lost, and forget the reputation everybody expected me to live up to as Judge Sylvia Jones daughter. People saw me as one of them, just ordinary, not privileged. Kinda like I hope you see me now, Caleb...
Caleb: I don't understand, what are you saying Tiffany?
Tiffany: What I'm saying Caleb is, I love you for who you are, not for who you pretend to be. I love you for just being Caleb Lockwood not a "mini-Ace". What works for Jake and Kay probably isn't going to work for us, so I say let's just stop trying to compete with them and just find us...
Caleb: So you want me to take the necklace back?
Tiffany smiles.
Tiffany: Now, now, let's not be hasty, I didn't say that...
Tiffany giggles.
Caleb: Okay, I got it, no more fancy restaurants, from now on its a night in with a pizza in our pajamas and a DVD boxset...
Tiffany: Well, maybe a nice restaurant once in a while.
She kisses him lightly on the lips.
Tiffany: So, I know you loved my hair when it was blonde, do you still like it?
We shift to the Conway master bedroom where Kathy is cuddled up next to her husband in the bed, the sheets keeping their modesty.
Kathy: You know I don't know what scared me most last week, the fact that I found myself questioning who you were when you told me to use that chair, or the fact that I am so in love with you that I almost did it without question...
Jake: In retrospect, maybe I got a little too carried away with that. I'm sorry...
Kathy: Don't be, babe. I wanted to beat Dexter and Freya as badly as you did, it just never occurred to me that I could and would find it in myself to almost throw away a match just to make a point. I feel our relationship has a new level to it as I think I finally understand your compulsion to just say "**** This."
Jake: Believe me, its necessary more often than people think. Some people only understand things clearly once they've had some steel bounce off their thick skulls...
Kathy: Oh I don't doubt it, babe. Not anymore...
Tiffany runs a hand through her now dyed dark brown hair, and looks expectantly at her elder sister.
Tiffany: Well, what do you think, Kay?
Kathy: I see you've gone darker again, for someone special is it?
Kathy smirks, clearly they both knew the answer to that.
Tiffany: Do you think he'll like it?
Kathy: If he doesn't, you always have that rake handy...
Both sisters laugh at this.
Kathy: So the boys aren't here, now you can tell me about how it all went. Please spare no detail...
Tiffany: Oh, Caleb's such a sweetheart, who knew he could be so attentive? He brought us tickets to Le Reve.
Kathy: Oh, that's very cool. Always wanted to go, but Jake and I haven't really had the chance, the company schedule being what it is, we're never here long enough...maybe the next time NCW has a show here....
Tiffany: Yeah. He also brought me the most gorgeous tanzanite teardrop necklace I've ever seen...
Kathy: Really? It's always nice when they go that extra mile to make it even more special, I remember last year Jake brought me these diamond ear-rings...
Kathy gestures to the dangling ear-rings she is currently wearing, in stark contrast to Kathy, Tiffany didn't like to flaunt the gifts she received, especially when they came from somebody who meant something to her.
After dinner with Caleb, she had come home and almost immediately tucked the precious necklace in her grandwother's old antique jewellery box, where she kept all the real precious gems of her life, including the ear-rings that had started this latest chapter of her rather adventurous love-life.
Tiffany blinked out of her reflection, and her ears retuned to her sister's gushing recollection of her precious birthday gift from Jake.
Kathy: ...and he absolutely insisted that such an obvious gift wasn't because he was running out of ideas, but because diamond is my birthstone, it really was soooo adorable watching him uncomfortably flinch like that, almost as if diamond ear-rings weren't good enough for me and they were a last minute apology and concession....
Tiffany: Only Jake Conway would feel guilty that he perhaps had not spent quite enough money to adequately express his love...only Jake Conway would concede that sometimes diamonds weren't enough...
Kathy laughs.
Kathy: Yeah, I guess you're right, that is so him...
Tiffany cocked her head as her sister's words struck her with a thought.
You're right, Kay. That is so Jake Conway. The whole thing was. The dinner at the fine restaurant, the extravagant gifts, somehow it didn't feel like the real Caleb Lockwood. It felt like he was trying to fit into some sort of predetermined mould as the next Jake Conway rather than concentrating on being the first Caleb Lockwood.
No wonder he felt so uncomfortable in that shirt, it wasn't Caleb's idea, it was Jake's. I wonder just how much of our date was real and not just some pale imitation of a date with my dear brother-in-law?
The scene opens inside a local gym where The Ace and Caleb are about to step into a practice ring for a training session, when a couple of familar faces find them. Callie Jacobsen tries to stop her older brother, but Andrew Jacobsen seems rather pissed off and on the warpath as he gets in The Ace's face. Caleb just watches from the sidelines.
Jacobsen: What the hell do you think you are doing?
The Ace looks around the gym and the wrestling ring.
The Ace: Isn't it obvious?
Jacobsen: Funny, real funny, Jake. I mean with my baby sister! I know what this is Conway, some ploy to use my sister to further your own agenda whatever that is...maybe you're still pissed that I chewed your ass out over that tag match a couple of weeks ago, and you're just trying to get even...
The Ace turns to Caleb.
The Ace: Can you believe this guy? I give his baby sister a job, I try to open a few doors and help an ambitious and talented young woman find a way to fulfill her dreams and all her brother can see is some evil plot to get back at him?
The Ace turns back to Andrew Jacobsen.
The Ace: Just how petty do you think I am? You know for a man who lives his life through nothing but good intentions, you sure have a hard time seeing them when they are right infront of you. Have you forgotten that I live with your greatest fan? There is no conspiracy, no ulterior motive. I have a business relationship with Callie, that's all. You have my word...
Andrew doesn't seem utterly convinced, but since he as yet had no evidence to prove anything to the contrary, he conceded with a simple nod, before walking off to collect his thoughts.
Callie watches her brother leave and then steps closer to The Ace.
Callie: I'm so sorry Mr Conway, I tried to stop him.
The Ace: A word of advice Miss Jacobsen, if you want to keep your job and all the power and privilege that comes with it, I suggest you get your house in order....
Callie concedes with a simple nod.
Callie: I'm sorry, Mr Conway. I promise it'll never happen again.
The Ace simply nods and smiles.
The Ace: Now if you'll excuse me, I have a protege to prepare for our tag team match on Saturday...
Callie nods, and walks off in the direction of her brother, somewhat annoyed by his outburst herself.
The Ace turns to Caleb.
The Ace: Shall we?
Caleb nods as he steps into the ring.
Caleb: That was intense, Mr C.
The Ace steps into the ring with a smile.
The Ace: If you think that was intense, I'm about to redefine the word for you. Come on then Caleb, you always say I don't teach you nearly enough, let's see what you've got.
Caleb does a few jumps on the spot to warm himself up, he cracks his neck as he prepares to lock up with his mentor and nearly ten year veteran of the sport.
Caleb: I got this....
Caleb steps forward and locks up with The Ace, who surprises the smaller man by kicking him in the gut and whilst he is doubled over isolating Caleb's right arm and taking him down with a reverse armbar, but instead of maintaing the hold for more than a couple of moments, The Ace rolls through to Caleb's legs and applies an Ankle Lock. Caleb screams resisting the pain with a defiant shake of his head.
The Ace: Lesson 1 - Be prepared to call your opponent's bluff and beat him to it. Sucker them in to your game and change the rules when they least expect it.
The Ace releases the hold.
The Ace: So Caleb, describe to me what you remember of how Tiffany looked on your first date the other night?
Caleb gets to his feet and shakes his leg, thankfully the hold had not been applied for long enough for numbness to settle in. Caleb looks very confused.
Caleb: Mr C?
The Ace: Trust me...
Caleb: Well she looked stunning, radiant, gorgeous, totally out of my league...
The Ace: Well I already knew that, I mean what was she wearing. Details, my boy, details...
Caleb then is whipped across the ring by the Ace.
Caleb: Uh, she was wearing a black dress...
Caleb ducks a clothesline attempt, and answers with one of his own.
Caleb: Very beautiful, plunging neckline, a slit up the side, it almost knocked me out of my shoes...
Caleb grins as he helps his mentor back to his feet, and as soon as The Ace finds his feet, Caleb tries a low kick to The Ace's shin, but the veteran blocks it and grabs the leg and flips Caleb onto his back with a Dragon Screw, before transitioning almost seamlessly into a Figure 4 Leg Lock.
The Ace: Lesson 2 - Stick to your train of thought, don't allow yourself to get thrown off or distracted, if you find a focal point to concentrate on, like say how sexy Tiffany looked and can still have enough concentration left to realise there's still a match going on you're less likely to get easily distracted. Now don't just lie there, reverse it, reverse it, by the grace of God. Reverse it!
Caleb tries with all his might to reverse the bigger man's hold, slowly, slowly he gets The Ace to his side, but no further, as The Ace flips him back over, Caleb defiantly shakes his head, and through squinted eyes looks around him for a reprieve, then he sees a white middle rope above him, just within reach and grabs it firmly, white as the light of salvation itself.
The Ace laughs as he releases the hold.
The Ace: Good. Very Good. Consider that Lesson 3 of your long overdue technical education, when brawn fails, brains will save you...
Caleb smiles inspite of the pain in his legs, The Ace was actually teaching him first hand some of the lessons only a veteran learns in this business and it had not escaped his notice that The Ace was instructing him with key moves from Harper's arsenal. The cunning British bastard did care about him after all.
True to his word, as the lessons wore on and they discussed strategy between exchanges for Captain Howdy, The Ace had indeed taught him a new meaning to the word intense.
The Ace: ...I know I've focused on my preferred style here, but never forget what brought you to the dance either Caleb, you are a high flyer, you have the speed advantage over all of us in this match. That is your greatest advantage. Use it. If they can't catch you, they can't ground you, and if they can't ground you, you remain the Master of Gravity. Dogs can chase cars all day long but if they never catch them, they'll never be in the driving seat...
Do you believe me yet?
I told you all that the Kelly-Bertie regime wasn't as bad for business as some of you self-proclaimed saviours have tried to make it out to be. Ever since Verona's T-shirts new T-shirts went on sale last week, I've been asked several times:
"Hey Ace, why are you a Roberto Verona guy?"
And my response is simple. If you have to ask that question, you clearly haven't been paying close enough attention to all he's been doing for the company even in his short tenure as Champion. Contrary to what the heroes like Nathan Webb, Mike Laszlo and Xavier Cross would have you believe, we are not the bad guys here. We never have been. We love this company. Maybe even a little bit too much at times. If you want to accuse us of anything, accuse us of that and we will all hold our hands up and be the first to declare ourselves guilty.
For months and months now, so many people have taken up the mantle against the regime, demanding change, demanding an end to corruption, demanding that the new blood be given a fair shake and that the veterans step aside.
The Ace opens his arms wide.
Well, here you are. This is what you wanted. No Spike Kanes, Falcons or Steve Awesomes taking up the spots you felt should belong to you. Slowly but surely the landscape of NCW is changing and whilst I can appreciate that maybe its not fast enough for some of you - the impatient few who still insist on waging a war that we never started - it is happening. Look, finally we heard you. Alex Jones wanted his opportunity to prove he could stand shoulder to shoulder with World Champions, we've inspired him to refocus himself and last week he defeated two former World Champions in one of the biggest matches of his career and we were all so impressed that this week, Kelly granted his wish. He has a match against the World Champion. He is in the Collision Main Event. He wanted his opportunity, he got it, courtesy of the very regime only idiots still protest.
Mike Laszlo. Yet more new blood, hand picked by Roberto himself, and still not forgotten in spite of his recent failure to capture the World Heavyweight Championship. He is still a fresh face in the main event scene, just like you all wanted, so what on God's green Earth are some of you still complaining about?
If you're still not convinced that this regime is all about opening doors rather than closing them, consider the door I myself have opened for young Callie Jacobsen and rather than just be happy for his sister and the great opportunity she has, her brother Andrew still wants to see me as some evil moustache-twirling villain...
The Ace points to his top lip.
Look Andy, no moustache, so please stop trying to paint one on me. You all want fresh faces, you all want new stars, you all want to see the future of this company given a shot to showcase their talents, look at the match I find myself in this week. This match isn't about me. This match isn't about The Ace and his second National Championship. This match is a platform for the new and rising stars of NCW, whether they're my personal protege Caleb Lockwood, veterans new to this company that sound like rejects from an aborted Toy Story script like Captain Howdy, or men of devine aspirations like Ladanian Harper.
You wanted fresh eggs in the basket? Well they get no fresher. Admittedly some of you might feel cheated given that this match features a failed children's TV host who still hasn't worked out his issues after apparently sixteen years in this business, but we all know that NCW policy is to reset the match counter as far as they are concerned, regardless of your past accomplishments. Like it or not Howdy, this isn't Year Sixteen, this is Year One and I for one am excited to see what you bring to the table.
Ladanian Harper, a man of God, hardly an original schtick these days, but then so little in this business ever is. Some might see you as the stand in for Ken Davison or a poor man's Gabriel Karras, but I know those names mean nothing to you, and they shouldn't - for you this shouldn't be about standing in the shadows of somebody else but rather about standing proudly in the spotlight just as you stand proudly in the light of God.
I won't lie Harper, after the show I saw you put on last week, against a former World Champion no less, I'm expecting so much from you this week. I'm expecting you to transcend all the tropes, I'm expecting you to spare me the cliches of how God and Evolution are naturally at odds or how I'm just a filthy sinner in need of absolution because I live in Vegas and enjoy the odd flutter at the Poker or Blackjack table. If you can do no better than to tell me of how you are here to purge my soul or to punish the wicked, I will make sure that the Right Hand of God is humbled and remembered as little more than the Left Testicle of Goat.
Don't believe me?
How coincidental because I don't believe in Him either. He has let me down once too many times, but I still have faith in you Harper. I'm still prepared to believe. You can make a believer out of me Harper. You can make a believer out of Caleb Lockwood. You can make a believer out of Captain Howdy. You can make a believer out of us all, from the cameramen to the commentators, from the referees to the repentant souls lost in the crowd of thosands in the arena and the millions more at home that will watch you and Captain Howdy step into the spotlight against a former World Champion and the current reigning two time National Champion. You are His Disciple. I have my own.
You see the light and that it is good.
I see the light and that it is blinding.
Don't close your eyes, or you will miss it.
Caleb stands in the door way of Tiffany's bedroom, where she is sat on the bed with her grandmother's jewellery box in her lap as the beholds the necklace sparkling in the light.
Caleb: You wanted to see me?
Tiffany simply nods before patting the bed and a spot next to her, inviting him to sit down. Caleb cautiously obliges her, shutting the door behind him.
Tiffany: Caleb, do you know why I fell in love with you?
Caleb shakes his head.
Caleb: I still haven't worked it out.
Tiffany smiles.
Tiffany: I fell in love with you because you're such a breath of fresh air around here. All this luxury, it really isn't my style, it never has been. Kay, she's the one who enjoys being married to a man who has the means and the resources to keep her in the manner in which she has become accustomed. She was the superstar, even when we were kids. The one who enjoyed the comfortable wealth and social status that came with being the daughter of a high powered judge and a police captain. While she went on to follow in daddy's footsteps and get a Masters degree to make the family proud before she met Jake, I took a more humble road. I got myself a degree in Economics sure, but I took a job as a bank clerk. It wasn't glorious, but it was fulfilling....
Tiffany pauses as she takes his hand in hers and looks deeply into his eyes.
Tiffany: In the crowd of ordinary people, just going about their business, requesting loans and mortgages, I felt I could get lost, and forget the reputation everybody expected me to live up to as Judge Sylvia Jones daughter. People saw me as one of them, just ordinary, not privileged. Kinda like I hope you see me now, Caleb...
Caleb: I don't understand, what are you saying Tiffany?
Tiffany: What I'm saying Caleb is, I love you for who you are, not for who you pretend to be. I love you for just being Caleb Lockwood not a "mini-Ace". What works for Jake and Kay probably isn't going to work for us, so I say let's just stop trying to compete with them and just find us...
Caleb: So you want me to take the necklace back?
Tiffany smiles.
Tiffany: Now, now, let's not be hasty, I didn't say that...
Tiffany giggles.
Caleb: Okay, I got it, no more fancy restaurants, from now on its a night in with a pizza in our pajamas and a DVD boxset...
Tiffany: Well, maybe a nice restaurant once in a while.
She kisses him lightly on the lips.
Tiffany: So, I know you loved my hair when it was blonde, do you still like it?
We shift to the Conway master bedroom where Kathy is cuddled up next to her husband in the bed, the sheets keeping their modesty.
Kathy: You know I don't know what scared me most last week, the fact that I found myself questioning who you were when you told me to use that chair, or the fact that I am so in love with you that I almost did it without question...
Jake: In retrospect, maybe I got a little too carried away with that. I'm sorry...
Kathy: Don't be, babe. I wanted to beat Dexter and Freya as badly as you did, it just never occurred to me that I could and would find it in myself to almost throw away a match just to make a point. I feel our relationship has a new level to it as I think I finally understand your compulsion to just say "**** This."
Jake: Believe me, its necessary more often than people think. Some people only understand things clearly once they've had some steel bounce off their thick skulls...
Kathy: Oh I don't doubt it, babe. Not anymore...