Everlong - Part Two

[Joe Everyman]

And I wonder
If everything could ever feel this real forever
If anything could ever be this good again

Curtis Kanyon. My best friend. My idol. My enemy. Curtis, we've been everything imaginable over the years. We met almost seven years ago, and since then, we have been all over the place. We've been best friends, we've been mortal enemies, we've done it all. It's only truly fitting that our last matches here in nCw will be against one another. And personally, I wouldn't have it any other way. I would have loved to go out and fight for the nCw World Championship, but that was never meant to be. Instead, I get to go out against my equal. Curtis, we have a great chance to put on one, huge, final battle for all of these people. And not just for them, but for us. We have been here for so many years now, having hundreds of combined matches. We bleed nCw. We are nCw. And yet, we are overshadowed. We have the chance of going out and showing the world and ourselves that we were always at the top. We were always talked about. We were always in the headlines. And even now, our match is one of the most talked about matches for this final pay per view. And Curtis, it broke my heart to hear that this will be your final match in your career. I know that you could go on for even more. But, if it's your decision, I would fight it. And if this is indeed your final match in nCw, we have to go out on top. This isn't for any championships. This isn't about respect. This isn't about the future. This is about now. This is about two brothers going to war. And this is one war I have to win.

The scene slowly opens up inside of the Joe Everyman household. Joe is sitting on the couch, his head laying on the back, his newly won X-Championship laying upon his lap. He seems to be at peace for the first time in a long while. After a few moments, Melanie walks down the flight of stairs and over to the couch.

Melanie Brooks: Are you going ok, Joe?

Joe Everyman: For the first time in a while, yes... I am. It's just...]

Melanie sits down onto the couch next to Joe and looks at him with a concerned look.

Melanie Brooks: It's just what?

Joe Everyman: This is the end of an era. I mean, I've been in nCw for seven years now, and it's just... ending. I know we get this huge last show to have some closure, but I don't think it's going to be that easy for a lot of us.

Melanie Brooks: I know how hard this must be on you. It's just like when The Office ended a few days ago. I cried my eyes out because it was ending. It was part of my life for such a long time, and then it just ended.

Joe Everyman: That's... actually a pretty spot on analogy for this.

Melanie Brooks: ...are you going to need to cry?

Joe Everyman: What? No!

Melanie looks at Joe for a second while Joe squirms.

Joe Everyman: ...ok, maybe a little.

Melanie Brooks: That's what I thought. But, at least you can retire as a champion.

Joe Everyman: Wait wait... retire? What gave you the idea that I would retire?

Melanie Brooks: Well, with the company closing, I thought you would be in a good place. And, we are getting married soon and with this child on the way too...

Joe looks at Melanie who seems to be trying to hide her true feelings.

Joe Everyman: Mel... did you want me to retire?

Melanie Brooks: ...would you be mad if I said yes?

Joe closes his eyes and sighs a little bit before looking at Melanie again.

Joe Everyman: Why didn't you just say that earlier? It's kind of a big deal to me.

Melanie Brooks: I know, I just wanted you to be home with me for a while. Maybe a semi-retirement?

Joe Everyman: Oh come on, I'm not Brett Favre. Or Brad Kane.

Melanie Brooks: I know, it's just... I miss you when you're on the road. And with the kids, I can't travel as well as I would hope. And-

Joe places his hand on Melanie's shoulder, causing her to stop talking.

Joe Everyman: I know we agree on a lot of things, but this isn't one of those. I don't think I can retire from this. I still have a lot to prove. Plus, our retirement cache isn't as big as I would like it to be. And, I heard rumblings of a new wrestling company opening up soon. A lot of the nCw guys are going there, and I feel like it could be the place for me.

Melanie Brooks: Ok Joe, I understand. Just forget I asked.

Joe Everyman: Now now Mel, I know what that really means. How's this; I take some time off until after the wedding, and after our child is born.

Melanie finally cracks a smile.

Melanie Brooks: Ok, you've got a deal. And by the way, I had my next ultrasound last Sunday while you were at Collision.

Mel pulls out a small envelope out of her pants pocket. Joe looks at it and snatches it from her, but doesn't open it.

Joe Everyman: Is this... what I think it is?

Melanie Brooks: It is.

Joe Everyman: Did you look inside yet?

Melanie Brooks: I wanted to wait for you. I know that we wanted to wait, but I don't think we could wait any longer.

Joe Everyman: I think you're right. Can... we open it now?

Melanie Brooks: Of course we can.

Joe begins opening the small envelope, but before he and Melanie can see the result, the scene slowly fades to black.

This is truly the end of so many eras. After this Sunday, the greatest professional wrestling company in the world will close it's doors for the final time. But now, we can all focus on this final show and go out and make it the best one in history. We are going to give everyone, ourselves included, the greatest show this company has ever witnessed. So many of nCw's staples will be hanging it up after we close the doors, and this will be their final shot. And Curtis, I was devastated to hear that you were retiring. I was hoping that we could find a new place and go for their Tag Team Championships, something we never got to do here.

And... there's a lot I never got to do here. That's just one of them. I'll never get to hold the record for most National Championship wins. I never got to hold the Tag Team Championships. I never held the World Championship. And I'm not going to make it into the Hall of Fame. And yet, my legacy is still stronger than so many others. I've been called Mr. Underrated my entire career. I've been called the best wrestler without a World Championship before. I've been called so many positive things in my career here. Enough to finally outweigh the negatives. A lot of people helped me through that. Davey Ortega. Spike Kane. Lance Ryan, who I INJURED, Curtis! Will Washington. And the aforementioned Curtis Kanyon. Without them, I would have been nothing in this company. And I will never be able to thank them the ways that I wanted to. They helped formed my career from the ground up here. I owe them everything.

In the end, that will be my legacy. Not my wins. Not my losses. Not my championships. Not my almost-could-have-beens. In the end, my legacy will be the relationships I formed here. I had so many friends here, and even though we are all going our separate ways, I know that I will stay close to them. Especially Curtis. When I say that he's my brother, I truly mean it. He's the closest thing I've had to family through my run here. And even though we bickered and fought, we still knew we could come to each other for anything. We both wanted to leave nCw on a high note, and we came to each other for that too. A few weeks ago, when we started fighting again, I knew that this is what I wanted. I wanted to go out against one of the top talents in this company's history. And when I couldn't do that, I decided to settle with Curtis. And Curtis, before you load another BANG! into the chamber, just know that I'm kidding. I'm serious when I call you one of the best in this company's history. When you look back at the best wrestlers to come through here, your name is always brought up. And that, Curtis, will be your legacy. You will be remembered. And it's true that you will not end this legacy on a whimper. However... you will not end it on a victory.

You are retiring, Curtis. Your legacy will be complete. Mine, however, will not. I will be continuing on. My legacy has just begun. I will continue to bleed and sweat for this industry. Wherever it takes me, I will continue on. I know that I cannot end it like this. I will forever chase that elusive World Championship until it kills me, if I must. There is still so much of my career left to accomplish. And maybe Curtis, I can talk you out of retirement to come back to wherever I am. And maybe, we can try and win those Tag Team Championships we discussed so long ago. But, no matter how it goes down in the future, no matter how it goes down on Sunday, it will be an honor. I will have been an honor serving this company for seven years. And Curtis, it's always been an honor to be your rival and your friend. We will go out and have the greatest match we've ever had. We will go out and have the greatest match anybody has ever had. So many of these matches on the card are built upon hate, or built upon gold. Ours is built upon respect and friendship. And in the end, the better man will win. And no matter how the cards fall this Sunday, I want to shake your hand, Curtis. No matter if we win or loss this match, we will all be winners at the end of the night. And maybe that will be our legacies. We will be remembered for everything this company was. We will be remembered for how strong our hearts were. We will be remembered for all of the good times. And maybe even some of the bad. And now, all we have left is to fight. I sincerely wish you luck, Curtis. This will be our greatest battle. And no matter how it ends, you will always be my brother.

The only thing I'll ever ask of you
You've got to promise not to stop when I say when
She sang...