Post by Lance "The Icon" Ryan on May 6, 2008 19:23:16 GMT -6
~*~*~Retirement is a funny thing. Most people look forward to retirement, that is, until they get there. Most retirees end up working for minimum wage just so that they can keep their minds and their bodies stimulated. The average age of retirement is somewhere around sixty. If sixty year olds find it hard to sit still in life and find it impossible to not contribute SOMETHING to society, how is a man that is not even forty going to cope with the end of his professional career? The reality for Lance Ryan is that this Sunday could very well be his last match in professional wrestling. Now, the reality isn’t really harsh for Lance, as the retirement has been self imposed and there is little doubt that he wants to spend more time with his family and less time on the road. Since this retirement has been self imposed there is always that off chance that later on down the road Lance Ryan will again return to the ring, but for the time being it is his responsibilities as a father that are taking over in his mind. There is little doubt that Lance’s touch will continue to be felt somehow and somewhere in the wrestling world, his son Jamie is a rising star in nCw’s minor leagues, and Lance is always willing to work with other wrestlers to help them learn and hone the art of professional wrestling. Wrestling has been in Lance’s blood for far too long now to simply be cast aside. Blood is something that very well could be shed this week in his potential last match. A match that started out with the feeling of a blood war, turned into two friends on a collision course with destiny…but this past week we saw Reckless Jack lose his cool and show the world hi true colors, stating that he has in fact despised Lance for as long as he has known him. With those words, the entire arena, everyone in the back, everyone watching around the world and anyone that has followed the epic careers of both Lance Ryan and Reckless Jack saw the pain and the hatred in the champion’s eyes as Collision went off the air. Lance was left with memories, thoughts and emotions that Reckless Jack dragged up with a few simple words.~*~*~
~*~*~Lance Ryan is sitting backstage at an arena and he is in his street clothes. He sits alone in the room with his world title sitting in his lap. He looks down at the title with a stare that is as intense as we have perhaps ever seen the champion. Lance rises to his feet and he walks out of the locker-room that he is seated in and starts making his way down a hall-way that is filled with people. He passes by a few people with a nod and then stops beside one man that is leaning up against a wall. He is talking to another guy and stops as Lance approaches.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: JJ, this match is huge. I have been waiting a while now to get inside the ring with Reckless Jack. You had better not screw things up out there tonight. I expect you to call things right down the middle. All political bull**** is out the window here tonight. I want to know which of us is the better wrestler, myself or Reckless Jack.
~*~*~JJ Biggs simply nods his head in agreement and doesn’t say a word to the World Champion. Lance seems satisfied and he walks down the hallway and opens an exit door and he steps outside the arena. The camera follows him as he finds a crate to have a seat on. He pulls out a pack of cigarettes and lights one up. Just as we see some semblance of relaxation come over Lance the door opens again and we see a smaller man that is dressed in a business suit walk out the door. He takes a look down at Lance and ponders whether he should interrupt the champion and his thoughts at this moment. Lance looks up at the man and his expression does not change.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: You had better be ready for what we have planned. He has absolutely no idea what is coming for him and it had better stay that way. I just had words with the referee for our match and he has no idea what is going on. I think that I have everyone convinced that this match is going to be a fair fight and that the best man is going to win. You and I, we know differently. If by any chance it looks like he is going to beat me tonight, you had better be right there in the gorilla position and ready to make your move. I swear to you, if you **** this up, there will be hell to pay. I have worked way to damn hard to get where I am today. I have bled all over the world, I have left my sweat on the mats of a thousand rings and I have cried the tears that come with victory and defeat. All of these things I have done on my way to becoming the World Champion and all of these things have cemented who I am. I have little doubt that I am the better wrestler than RJ, my only concern is that he could get lucky. Anyone can defeat anyone on any given night in this industry and trust me, tonight, no matter what it takes, is not going to be the night that he gets lucky.
Man: Listen. I have done everything within my power to get you to where you are today. I have done everything in my power to ensure that you once again held that world title. Now, I am ensuring you with my word once again that everything will go according to plan this evening. There is absolutely no way that Reckless Jack is going to win the world title here tonight, by luck, by chance or by crook. Whether these disgusting fans want to enjoy it or not, at the end of this evening their world champion will invariably be Lance Ryan.
Lance Ryan: There is one thing that I also want to make you understand. Jack and I are friends outside of this ring. When you are as good as I am friends are hard to find in this business. Most men choose to be jealous of you and want your spot. Jack is a man that I consider to be as close as a brother, and there is no way in hell that he is to find out that I have anything to do with this. I know that he will have an inkling, I know that he will always have his suspicions, but as long as I am in this business and as long as I am friends with him, I want him to always doubt that I would ever set him up for what is about to happen here tonight. Do you understand that?
Man: I understand. But how are you going to explain our alliance that is planned after this evening?
Lance Ryan: RJ knows that at the end of the day I am a business man. If he was fortunate enough to have someone save his ass “unexpectedly”, he would ally up as well. It is always good to have friends in the highest of places. That part is easy, I just want to ensure that he never finds out that we were allied before tonight.
Man: Understood. Perhaps we can work him over to our side in the end.
Lance Ryan: That is an interesting idea, one that we will have to see how it plays out. For tonight, we go with what we have talked about. No leave me in peace Marvin. It’s not every day that I make a deal with the devil…much less when it is a true friend that will be the victim. Be ready when you are needed, and until then, do not be seen in my presence.
~*~*~Lance rises to his feet and looks around to make sure that nobody is watching. He then shakes hands with this man that we now know as Marvin. Marvin then opens the door back into the arena and takes his leave of the scene. Lance sits back down on the crate and is staring at the World Title that is once again in his lap.~*~*~[/i]
~*~*~Lance is sitting alone on a leather couch with his feet up on a coffee table now. He looks a little bit groggy as he begins to speak.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: Bradley, there are a lot of things that you know about my past. There are however a lot more things that you do not know. There are moments, glimmers in time, sheer blinks that have gone by when you were left completely unaware of your surroundings and completely blindsided by what happened. You see, that has been the basis of our co-existence. Two men that should absolutely never have trust for one another, yet two men that have seemingly remained friends throughout their careers. There have been numerous instances throughout our time knowing one another where one of us pulled the wool over the other’s eyes. Whether it be the screw-job, whether it be you turning your back on me in the chair-shot challenge…or the numerous times that we have left one another in the lurch…somehow we have always ended up coming out as friends in the end. Collision changed that forever Brad.
~*~*~Lance pulls up a television remote from beside him and he clicks on the television that is across the room and the camera turns to focus on the screen. The television is on a freeze frame of Reckless Jack kicking in the skull of Lance.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: I am not sure if this was the kick that left me with a concussion…
~*~*~Lance unfreezes the screen and we watch as Reckless Jack continues to kick Lance in the skull.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: Or that one. Or that one. Or that one. But you get the point. It doesn’t matter which kick it was that you landed on my skull that caused it…what matters is this.
~*~*~Lance fast forwards through the promo that Reckless Jack cut at Collision and freezes on the scene when Lance is back on his knees and staring up the ramp at Reckless Jack.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: What you see right there is all that needs to matter for you Brad. That look in my eyes is one of utter disdain and hatred. No matter what the circumstances, no matter who was watching, no matter why we do what we do…there were always lines that we never crossed inside that ring Brad. You crossed two of them last Sunday. The first one is that we never drag our personal lives into our matches. The second is that we never have the intent to injure. You disappoint me Brad Kane. You have taken a road that we have both been to mature to take before…the low road. That road is a risky one to travel on Brad, one that will ultimately lead to your downfall and your demise.
You seem arrogant now. Sure that you will defeat me for my title and for my career at Reborn. Absolutely positive that by fooling me and the entire world that you were my friend you have messed with the mind of the greatest champion in nCw history…absolutely sure that you have baited me emotionally and physically all at one time to be less than I am capable of being for our match…let me tell you this, you are horribly wrong.
~*~*~Lance stops talking for a moment and pulls out a cigarette. He lights it and take a huge haul off of it.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: Brad, I do not want you to think that you have the market covered on one ups-man-ship within this company. Hell, I hope that you are not even lulling yourself into the false sense that you are the better at mind games out of the two of us. It wasn’t that long ago, just over two years now that I set you up for the most humiliating and emotionally draining loss of your career. TWICE you held my world title within your grasp, TWICE you thought that you had me defeated for my world title, and TWICE you had that taken away by the powers that be in NWA…after all these years, after all the wrestling with the idea that you must have done, how does it feel to finally find out that I was in fact the man that orchestrated your downfall that night? Brad, come on, you can try and pit a positive spin on it all you want but you never fully recovered from the emotional damage of that evening, you still talk about it to this day. The screw-job as you call it. The day that you finally learned how important politics really are in this business…but you really didn’t learn a thing did you Brad?
~*~*~Lance butts out his cigarette and rises to his feet now and starts pacing in the room.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: For years and years now we have been in the same companies, the same factions and the same limousines together…I was fooled into believing that we were in fact friends over this time, I will admit that. Looking back, it almost looks as though you did learn something about politics from that January night…but all that went out the window this Sunday when you let your emotions get the best of you. In that instant, I am sure that you felt like you were leaving me worse for ware come Reborn, but your actions will in fact prove to be more detrimental to your well being than mine. Politics Brad, it’s all about politics.
When you think of champions over the years, over the eras, you don’t always find the most athletic guys, hell you don’t even generally tend to find the best pure wrestlers…what you find are the guys that put themselves in the best position possible to succeed. The wrestlers that market themselves the best, the wrestlers that play to the crowd the best, and perhaps most importantly, the wrestlers that play the bosses the best. Now, with that said, take a look at the situation that you have placed yourself into politically. You, Reckless Jack, a man that is notorious for mailing in performances, a man that is well known for choking on some of the biggest stages of them all, and most of all a man that does not have many friends in management…taking on Lance Ryan…a man that gives his all every night of the week, no matter the stage…a man that is at his best on the biggest of stages…and a man that has, as you so kindly pointed out, historically done whatever it takes to pick up a win. I see your chances are very slim at Reborn.
~*~*~Lance sits back down on the couch and turns the television back on.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: See Brad, I do not plan on laying down for you, I have reason to want to injure you now. The fans to not want to see you win, they despise you. Management does not want to see you win, they are afraid of what having you as a flag bearer will do to this company. So you see it all boils down to one thing Brad, nobody wants you to win the title at Reborn…I don’t even think you want to win…I think that you are afraid of the pressure that would be placed on you if you had to lead this company. Therefore, in mind there is only one logical conclusion to all of this…not once, but twice on Reborn you are going to have to take a long distance phone call…
~*~*~Lance freezes the television frame on Reckless Jack taking the super-kick on Collision a few weeks ago and leaves it there.~*~*~[/i]
Lance: …Canada will be Calling…
~*~*~The final image that we are left looking at is that freeze frame of Reckless Jack taking the Canada is Calling from Lance Ryan.~*~*~[/i]
They say that family can only be found one way,
It is a bond that is created only through chance…
Most would tell you that I have but two brothers,
Two men that were lucky to be born and bred brothers of Lance.
I would say that you are far from the truth,
Saying that I have but two brothers is simply not a fact.
I have one brother that is closer than any others…
His name is Reckless Jack.
It is a bond that is created only through chance…
Most would tell you that I have but two brothers,
Two men that were lucky to be born and bred brothers of Lance.
I would say that you are far from the truth,
Saying that I have but two brothers is simply not a fact.
I have one brother that is closer than any others…
His name is Reckless Jack.
~*~*~Lance Ryan is sitting backstage at an arena and he is in his street clothes. He sits alone in the room with his world title sitting in his lap. He looks down at the title with a stare that is as intense as we have perhaps ever seen the champion. Lance rises to his feet and he walks out of the locker-room that he is seated in and starts making his way down a hall-way that is filled with people. He passes by a few people with a nod and then stops beside one man that is leaning up against a wall. He is talking to another guy and stops as Lance approaches.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: JJ, this match is huge. I have been waiting a while now to get inside the ring with Reckless Jack. You had better not screw things up out there tonight. I expect you to call things right down the middle. All political bull**** is out the window here tonight. I want to know which of us is the better wrestler, myself or Reckless Jack.
~*~*~JJ Biggs simply nods his head in agreement and doesn’t say a word to the World Champion. Lance seems satisfied and he walks down the hallway and opens an exit door and he steps outside the arena. The camera follows him as he finds a crate to have a seat on. He pulls out a pack of cigarettes and lights one up. Just as we see some semblance of relaxation come over Lance the door opens again and we see a smaller man that is dressed in a business suit walk out the door. He takes a look down at Lance and ponders whether he should interrupt the champion and his thoughts at this moment. Lance looks up at the man and his expression does not change.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: You had better be ready for what we have planned. He has absolutely no idea what is coming for him and it had better stay that way. I just had words with the referee for our match and he has no idea what is going on. I think that I have everyone convinced that this match is going to be a fair fight and that the best man is going to win. You and I, we know differently. If by any chance it looks like he is going to beat me tonight, you had better be right there in the gorilla position and ready to make your move. I swear to you, if you **** this up, there will be hell to pay. I have worked way to damn hard to get where I am today. I have bled all over the world, I have left my sweat on the mats of a thousand rings and I have cried the tears that come with victory and defeat. All of these things I have done on my way to becoming the World Champion and all of these things have cemented who I am. I have little doubt that I am the better wrestler than RJ, my only concern is that he could get lucky. Anyone can defeat anyone on any given night in this industry and trust me, tonight, no matter what it takes, is not going to be the night that he gets lucky.
Man: Listen. I have done everything within my power to get you to where you are today. I have done everything in my power to ensure that you once again held that world title. Now, I am ensuring you with my word once again that everything will go according to plan this evening. There is absolutely no way that Reckless Jack is going to win the world title here tonight, by luck, by chance or by crook. Whether these disgusting fans want to enjoy it or not, at the end of this evening their world champion will invariably be Lance Ryan.
Lance Ryan: There is one thing that I also want to make you understand. Jack and I are friends outside of this ring. When you are as good as I am friends are hard to find in this business. Most men choose to be jealous of you and want your spot. Jack is a man that I consider to be as close as a brother, and there is no way in hell that he is to find out that I have anything to do with this. I know that he will have an inkling, I know that he will always have his suspicions, but as long as I am in this business and as long as I am friends with him, I want him to always doubt that I would ever set him up for what is about to happen here tonight. Do you understand that?
Man: I understand. But how are you going to explain our alliance that is planned after this evening?
Lance Ryan: RJ knows that at the end of the day I am a business man. If he was fortunate enough to have someone save his ass “unexpectedly”, he would ally up as well. It is always good to have friends in the highest of places. That part is easy, I just want to ensure that he never finds out that we were allied before tonight.
Man: Understood. Perhaps we can work him over to our side in the end.
Lance Ryan: That is an interesting idea, one that we will have to see how it plays out. For tonight, we go with what we have talked about. No leave me in peace Marvin. It’s not every day that I make a deal with the devil…much less when it is a true friend that will be the victim. Be ready when you are needed, and until then, do not be seen in my presence.
~*~*~Lance rises to his feet and looks around to make sure that nobody is watching. He then shakes hands with this man that we now know as Marvin. Marvin then opens the door back into the arena and takes his leave of the scene. Lance sits back down on the crate and is staring at the World Title that is once again in his lap.~*~*~[/i]
~*~*~Lance is sitting alone on a leather couch with his feet up on a coffee table now. He looks a little bit groggy as he begins to speak.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: Bradley, there are a lot of things that you know about my past. There are however a lot more things that you do not know. There are moments, glimmers in time, sheer blinks that have gone by when you were left completely unaware of your surroundings and completely blindsided by what happened. You see, that has been the basis of our co-existence. Two men that should absolutely never have trust for one another, yet two men that have seemingly remained friends throughout their careers. There have been numerous instances throughout our time knowing one another where one of us pulled the wool over the other’s eyes. Whether it be the screw-job, whether it be you turning your back on me in the chair-shot challenge…or the numerous times that we have left one another in the lurch…somehow we have always ended up coming out as friends in the end. Collision changed that forever Brad.
~*~*~Lance pulls up a television remote from beside him and he clicks on the television that is across the room and the camera turns to focus on the screen. The television is on a freeze frame of Reckless Jack kicking in the skull of Lance.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: I am not sure if this was the kick that left me with a concussion…
~*~*~Lance unfreezes the screen and we watch as Reckless Jack continues to kick Lance in the skull.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: Or that one. Or that one. Or that one. But you get the point. It doesn’t matter which kick it was that you landed on my skull that caused it…what matters is this.
~*~*~Lance fast forwards through the promo that Reckless Jack cut at Collision and freezes on the scene when Lance is back on his knees and staring up the ramp at Reckless Jack.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: What you see right there is all that needs to matter for you Brad. That look in my eyes is one of utter disdain and hatred. No matter what the circumstances, no matter who was watching, no matter why we do what we do…there were always lines that we never crossed inside that ring Brad. You crossed two of them last Sunday. The first one is that we never drag our personal lives into our matches. The second is that we never have the intent to injure. You disappoint me Brad Kane. You have taken a road that we have both been to mature to take before…the low road. That road is a risky one to travel on Brad, one that will ultimately lead to your downfall and your demise.
You seem arrogant now. Sure that you will defeat me for my title and for my career at Reborn. Absolutely positive that by fooling me and the entire world that you were my friend you have messed with the mind of the greatest champion in nCw history…absolutely sure that you have baited me emotionally and physically all at one time to be less than I am capable of being for our match…let me tell you this, you are horribly wrong.
~*~*~Lance stops talking for a moment and pulls out a cigarette. He lights it and take a huge haul off of it.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: Brad, I do not want you to think that you have the market covered on one ups-man-ship within this company. Hell, I hope that you are not even lulling yourself into the false sense that you are the better at mind games out of the two of us. It wasn’t that long ago, just over two years now that I set you up for the most humiliating and emotionally draining loss of your career. TWICE you held my world title within your grasp, TWICE you thought that you had me defeated for my world title, and TWICE you had that taken away by the powers that be in NWA…after all these years, after all the wrestling with the idea that you must have done, how does it feel to finally find out that I was in fact the man that orchestrated your downfall that night? Brad, come on, you can try and pit a positive spin on it all you want but you never fully recovered from the emotional damage of that evening, you still talk about it to this day. The screw-job as you call it. The day that you finally learned how important politics really are in this business…but you really didn’t learn a thing did you Brad?
~*~*~Lance butts out his cigarette and rises to his feet now and starts pacing in the room.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: For years and years now we have been in the same companies, the same factions and the same limousines together…I was fooled into believing that we were in fact friends over this time, I will admit that. Looking back, it almost looks as though you did learn something about politics from that January night…but all that went out the window this Sunday when you let your emotions get the best of you. In that instant, I am sure that you felt like you were leaving me worse for ware come Reborn, but your actions will in fact prove to be more detrimental to your well being than mine. Politics Brad, it’s all about politics.
When you think of champions over the years, over the eras, you don’t always find the most athletic guys, hell you don’t even generally tend to find the best pure wrestlers…what you find are the guys that put themselves in the best position possible to succeed. The wrestlers that market themselves the best, the wrestlers that play to the crowd the best, and perhaps most importantly, the wrestlers that play the bosses the best. Now, with that said, take a look at the situation that you have placed yourself into politically. You, Reckless Jack, a man that is notorious for mailing in performances, a man that is well known for choking on some of the biggest stages of them all, and most of all a man that does not have many friends in management…taking on Lance Ryan…a man that gives his all every night of the week, no matter the stage…a man that is at his best on the biggest of stages…and a man that has, as you so kindly pointed out, historically done whatever it takes to pick up a win. I see your chances are very slim at Reborn.
~*~*~Lance sits back down on the couch and turns the television back on.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: See Brad, I do not plan on laying down for you, I have reason to want to injure you now. The fans to not want to see you win, they despise you. Management does not want to see you win, they are afraid of what having you as a flag bearer will do to this company. So you see it all boils down to one thing Brad, nobody wants you to win the title at Reborn…I don’t even think you want to win…I think that you are afraid of the pressure that would be placed on you if you had to lead this company. Therefore, in mind there is only one logical conclusion to all of this…not once, but twice on Reborn you are going to have to take a long distance phone call…
~*~*~Lance freezes the television frame on Reckless Jack taking the super-kick on Collision a few weeks ago and leaves it there.~*~*~[/i]
Lance: …Canada will be Calling…
~*~*~The final image that we are left looking at is that freeze frame of Reckless Jack taking the Canada is Calling from Lance Ryan.~*~*~[/i]