Post by Lance "The Icon" Ryan on May 9, 2008 12:55:01 GMT -6
~*~*~There are basically three types of characters in wrestling. There are your heels, the inherently booed bad guys, there are your faces, the ones that cause women to wet their panties and men to whistle at other men in strictly heterosexual ways, and then there is the tweener, the characters that cannot make up their mind whether they are good or evil. Reborn will be where the battle between Lance Ryan and Reckless Jack takes place. For a long time the lines between which one of these guys is the good and which one is the bad has been clearly visible, however in the past few days that line has perhaps become a little more blurred. We have seen Lance recognize that all those years ago he screwed Reckless Jack out of his shot at the NWA Title and he had the match pre-determined long before the outcome was apparent for everyone else. He held back a man that was considered at that time to be more than a friend, perhaps even more than a brother. We have learned that Lance Ryan is willing to do, and has always done, whatever it takes to pick up a victory, especially in a title match. On the flip side, we have Reckless Jack, the apparent heel, talking about fair fights and fair outcomes and how disappointing it really is to find out that a friend tried so hard to hold him back on his jump through the glass ceiling. So, while Lance will be cheered and Reckless Jack will be booed, the question remains, if you stepped back from nCw and really took a look at this match, who should be the man that should be cheered at this point? The man that admits to playing politics and doing dirty things if it means that he will hold his spot, or the man that admits that he has bled for this industry and never taken the easy way out in any situation? The answer seems ever so obvious, but in the wacky world of wrestling this answer is not so apparent.~*~*~
~*~*~Lance is pacing back and forth in his living room. He seems to be agitated and appears to be very upset visually. Lance is wearing a grey pair of jogging pants and no shirt and is in the midst of a conversation. After surveying the situation we can tell that he is on speakerphone with someone.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: That’s not true. I really am glad that this match is happening, and I thank you again for letting it take place. I have been waiting a long time to again have a World Title Match with Reckless Jack…there are a lot of wrongs in my past that I would like to right, and one of them is giving Brad the chance to prove once and for all that he is better than me, seeing as that is what he believes deep down in his heart. But you need to understand now that with his actions and with his words, the mood has completely changed now, I do not feel the same way about this match that I once did Leonard…I cannot promise you that I will not in fact end his career on Sunday.
Leonard Fox: I can understand that you are completely riled up now after what he has said and done to you, but you need to realize that at the end of the day this is my company and I cannot have you go out there and purposely injure one of my superstars.
Lance Ryan: I can understand that. I just do not for the life of me understand his mind-set at this point. This is not what was supposed to happen, this is not how this was supposed to turn out. What I wanted is that great match, that show-stealing contest between the two of us that should have happened back in NWA…the match that he thought we were going to have, and in fact the match that he thought we HAD had until I told him differently. I ruined that moment for us in NWA with politics, with greed and with my selfish attitude…I wanted to pay that back to a man that I have long considered to be my best friend in the business and now it has gone completely sour…now it has become something completely different again. Reckless Jack in his infinite wisdom has made this personal, he has filled me with spite and he has brought back the side of me that was more than happy to step on an old friend to keep his spot at the top. Leonard, I know that you know this, hell I know that almost everyone knows this…when I am motivated and when I am at the top of my game, there is not only nobody that can beat me, there is, as Jack said, NOTHING that I will not do to keep my spot and to keep my title and this time to keep my career. Perhaps I was doing nothing more than becoming soft when I held regret for using Reckless Jack and his fickle mind in NWA, perhaps I had lost my edge and come Sunday I will have that edge back and I will show Reckless Jack what he is still missing in this business…the will to survive.
Leonard Fox: Ok Lance, I just wanted to make sure that you were in the mindset heading in…I cannot have you going out and purposely injuring one of my wrestlers, I need to know that you will put on a great match and that you will keep it within the rules.
~*~*~Lance gets a bit of a smirk upon his face~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: Don’t you worry…I will make sure that nothing happens to precious Jack.
~*~*~Leonard Fox seems convinced by this and the two say goodbye and the sound of Fox’s phone hanging up is heard as Lance turns the speakerphone off. Lance stretches for a moment and then has a seat on the couch.[/i]
Lance Ryan: Jack, you have no idea what you have done do you? I would think that you of all people, YOU out of everyone would know that what you have been doing is not playing mind games with me, but rather getting my mind set on this match. You see, I made some mistakes before you laid me out, not afterwards. The mistakes that I made were asking for this match for the wrong reasons, mainly because I wanted to pay you back for the wrongs that you had no idea I had committed and looking at this as a friendly match between two men that usually bring out the best in one another…those were my mistakes.
My mistakes are not being made now, the only mistakes that are being made now are stupid ones by you, a man that has known me since I made it to the top. You are getting my emotions involved, you are riling me up…you are bringing back the competitive edge that had been left dormant in this feud. My edge had been replaced by a friendly spirit of gamesmanship…and now that has been replaced with the need…yes, not the want…the NEED to defeat you at Reborn. I cannot think of a better name for this pay per view Jack, because what you have set into motion is the re-birth of the man that I used to be, the rebirth of the son of a bitch that will do just about anything to remain a part of this industry…the rebirth of the man that is going to hand you your ass on Sunday night.
~*~*~Lance pauses for a moment, as if he is struggling with whether or not he should say the next thing that is on his mind. The lines in his forehead appear as it seems that he is stressing over whether he wants to cross this certain line or not.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: Jack, let me tall you something, something that again I am debating the need for, but something that I feel does need to be said. When the “screwjob” took place we had already been friends for quite some time. When that match was approaching, I will admit that I felt as though there was a good chance that I could lose to you. Not necessarily because you were better than I was, but more-so because I knew that you were crafty enough to pull off a fluke. Looking back, I still feel the same way as I did at the time. You need to understand that the reason that I ****ed you over was two-fold. First of all, as we have touched on, I wanted to keep my spot at the top…second of all, I didn’t feel like you were ready for that jump. You were still green in many areas Jack, you were not the type of wrestler…the type of man…that is needed to run a company from the top. You were gung-ho at the chance to win the belt, but you had only a small perception of what winning that belt would mean. That is the other reason that I held you back…for your own protection.
You see, when I signed on for this match with you at Reborn, I thought that perhaps your time had come. Maybe now you were ready to step up and be THE MAN in this company, maybe now you were ready to take the full responsibility of what comes with being the World Champion…but now again your immaturity and your lack of knowledge are again coming through…and again I see this childishness in you that would prevent you from having a successful run with this belt, much less a significant one. RJ, you are still living in a dream world.
~*~*~Lance mutters the words “Self Revolution” under his breathe and chuckles to himself.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: Jack, you mentioned that the people are foolish for cheering for me because of the things that I have done in the past to have the top spot…this is what I mean by fantasy…do you not realize anything that goes on in the world around you…the reality of the world that we live in? Sure, I sleep with the bosses daughter, I screw over some friends, I take short-cuts…but so does nearly everyone that is successful. Secretaries sleep with their bosses to ensure that they keep their jobs and get raises…company presidents kiss as much ass as they can on their way to the top…hell, even the presidency of the United States is little more than a popularity contest…in the world that we live in it’s who you know and not what you know that matters.
Your self revolution is improperly named if you cannot take a step Jack…every revolution has left bodies lying in it’s wake…every uprising has ran over the previous regime…every successful human being has stepped on the toes of someone on their rise to the top…its part of life Jack and that is what people associate with. They associate with the man that works hard, regardless of what that work is. On the other hand they have zero respect for the other man that pussy foots through life making sure not to hurt anyone’s feelings, not to step on any cracks and not to screw anyone over along the way. Wrestling, just like the business world is in fact a dog eat dog world Jacko and I am the big dog around here, and once again you are going to find out that the smaller dog will get eaten.
~*~*~Once again Lance flicks on the television screen in front of him and we see a split screen that shows images of all of the matches that Lance and Reckless Jack have opposed one another in. The tag matches, the singles matches, everything…Lance stares at the screen for a moment and then laughs to himself again.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: Jacko, you keep throwing out these comments that I have never beat you one on one before in a clean match...nothing that has happened before matters anymore...nothing before this is of consequence...this is the bottom of the ninth inning and the bases are loaded, this is game seven of the Stanley cup finals, this is the Super Bowl for you Reckless Jack...you either win and take home all of the prizes or you walk away the same defeated middle of the road wrestler that I believe you are.
Not one of these matches matters anymore, during all of these moments there was some semblance of a friendship between the two of us…at each of these moments in time there was friendly competition between us. That will all change this Sunday Jack…this Sunday the mood has been changed…my crosshairs are firmly set upon you, you are nothing more than the next victim, the next step, the enemy. You have become my enemy Reckless Jack and I am again inspired. Inspired to defeat you, inspired to keep my title, inspired to keep wrestling….
~*~*~Lance shuts off the television now and gets up and walks over to one of the windows in the room and stares out into the darkness.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: Reckless Jack. All those years ago I held you back. I kept you down because it was what was best for you. You were not ready to become THE MAN in NWA. Now, here we are over two years later and the reality is that you have not manned up, you have not learned the lessons that I have tried to teach you over the years and you are destined still at this rate to be nothing more than an epic failure. Failure Jack, that’s what most people see when they look at you, for years I defended you, for years I told them that they were wrong and that you would one day become the biggest name in this sport…truth is…they were right all along, you are a half-assed failure. This Sunday I plan to show them all that I was wrong when I mop the floor with your lackluster knowledge of what it takes to be the man around here…real stars shine in the dark Reckless Jack and your star is struggling to even shine at all.
~*~*~FIN~*~*~[/i]
One thing I hate in life,
Is when people put words in your mouth.
When they state that you were the one that said something…
And they take the chance to make your reputation go south.
Reckless Jack did just that this week,
Seems to be of the belief that I am proud of what I have done.
He seems that I am glad that I tried to hold him back,
Happy that it was cheaply when I won.
Brad, you are incorrect,
Joy is not the emotion that has been set…
I screwed up, I did everything to keep my spot…
I cost my friend his chance to take the next step, I hold regret...
Is when people put words in your mouth.
When they state that you were the one that said something…
And they take the chance to make your reputation go south.
Reckless Jack did just that this week,
Seems to be of the belief that I am proud of what I have done.
He seems that I am glad that I tried to hold him back,
Happy that it was cheaply when I won.
Brad, you are incorrect,
Joy is not the emotion that has been set…
I screwed up, I did everything to keep my spot…
I cost my friend his chance to take the next step, I hold regret...
~*~*~Lance is pacing back and forth in his living room. He seems to be agitated and appears to be very upset visually. Lance is wearing a grey pair of jogging pants and no shirt and is in the midst of a conversation. After surveying the situation we can tell that he is on speakerphone with someone.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: That’s not true. I really am glad that this match is happening, and I thank you again for letting it take place. I have been waiting a long time to again have a World Title Match with Reckless Jack…there are a lot of wrongs in my past that I would like to right, and one of them is giving Brad the chance to prove once and for all that he is better than me, seeing as that is what he believes deep down in his heart. But you need to understand now that with his actions and with his words, the mood has completely changed now, I do not feel the same way about this match that I once did Leonard…I cannot promise you that I will not in fact end his career on Sunday.
Leonard Fox: I can understand that you are completely riled up now after what he has said and done to you, but you need to realize that at the end of the day this is my company and I cannot have you go out there and purposely injure one of my superstars.
Lance Ryan: I can understand that. I just do not for the life of me understand his mind-set at this point. This is not what was supposed to happen, this is not how this was supposed to turn out. What I wanted is that great match, that show-stealing contest between the two of us that should have happened back in NWA…the match that he thought we were going to have, and in fact the match that he thought we HAD had until I told him differently. I ruined that moment for us in NWA with politics, with greed and with my selfish attitude…I wanted to pay that back to a man that I have long considered to be my best friend in the business and now it has gone completely sour…now it has become something completely different again. Reckless Jack in his infinite wisdom has made this personal, he has filled me with spite and he has brought back the side of me that was more than happy to step on an old friend to keep his spot at the top. Leonard, I know that you know this, hell I know that almost everyone knows this…when I am motivated and when I am at the top of my game, there is not only nobody that can beat me, there is, as Jack said, NOTHING that I will not do to keep my spot and to keep my title and this time to keep my career. Perhaps I was doing nothing more than becoming soft when I held regret for using Reckless Jack and his fickle mind in NWA, perhaps I had lost my edge and come Sunday I will have that edge back and I will show Reckless Jack what he is still missing in this business…the will to survive.
Leonard Fox: Ok Lance, I just wanted to make sure that you were in the mindset heading in…I cannot have you going out and purposely injuring one of my wrestlers, I need to know that you will put on a great match and that you will keep it within the rules.
~*~*~Lance gets a bit of a smirk upon his face~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: Don’t you worry…I will make sure that nothing happens to precious Jack.
~*~*~Leonard Fox seems convinced by this and the two say goodbye and the sound of Fox’s phone hanging up is heard as Lance turns the speakerphone off. Lance stretches for a moment and then has a seat on the couch.[/i]
Lance Ryan: Jack, you have no idea what you have done do you? I would think that you of all people, YOU out of everyone would know that what you have been doing is not playing mind games with me, but rather getting my mind set on this match. You see, I made some mistakes before you laid me out, not afterwards. The mistakes that I made were asking for this match for the wrong reasons, mainly because I wanted to pay you back for the wrongs that you had no idea I had committed and looking at this as a friendly match between two men that usually bring out the best in one another…those were my mistakes.
My mistakes are not being made now, the only mistakes that are being made now are stupid ones by you, a man that has known me since I made it to the top. You are getting my emotions involved, you are riling me up…you are bringing back the competitive edge that had been left dormant in this feud. My edge had been replaced by a friendly spirit of gamesmanship…and now that has been replaced with the need…yes, not the want…the NEED to defeat you at Reborn. I cannot think of a better name for this pay per view Jack, because what you have set into motion is the re-birth of the man that I used to be, the rebirth of the son of a bitch that will do just about anything to remain a part of this industry…the rebirth of the man that is going to hand you your ass on Sunday night.
~*~*~Lance pauses for a moment, as if he is struggling with whether or not he should say the next thing that is on his mind. The lines in his forehead appear as it seems that he is stressing over whether he wants to cross this certain line or not.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: Jack, let me tall you something, something that again I am debating the need for, but something that I feel does need to be said. When the “screwjob” took place we had already been friends for quite some time. When that match was approaching, I will admit that I felt as though there was a good chance that I could lose to you. Not necessarily because you were better than I was, but more-so because I knew that you were crafty enough to pull off a fluke. Looking back, I still feel the same way as I did at the time. You need to understand that the reason that I ****ed you over was two-fold. First of all, as we have touched on, I wanted to keep my spot at the top…second of all, I didn’t feel like you were ready for that jump. You were still green in many areas Jack, you were not the type of wrestler…the type of man…that is needed to run a company from the top. You were gung-ho at the chance to win the belt, but you had only a small perception of what winning that belt would mean. That is the other reason that I held you back…for your own protection.
You see, when I signed on for this match with you at Reborn, I thought that perhaps your time had come. Maybe now you were ready to step up and be THE MAN in this company, maybe now you were ready to take the full responsibility of what comes with being the World Champion…but now again your immaturity and your lack of knowledge are again coming through…and again I see this childishness in you that would prevent you from having a successful run with this belt, much less a significant one. RJ, you are still living in a dream world.
~*~*~Lance mutters the words “Self Revolution” under his breathe and chuckles to himself.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: Jack, you mentioned that the people are foolish for cheering for me because of the things that I have done in the past to have the top spot…this is what I mean by fantasy…do you not realize anything that goes on in the world around you…the reality of the world that we live in? Sure, I sleep with the bosses daughter, I screw over some friends, I take short-cuts…but so does nearly everyone that is successful. Secretaries sleep with their bosses to ensure that they keep their jobs and get raises…company presidents kiss as much ass as they can on their way to the top…hell, even the presidency of the United States is little more than a popularity contest…in the world that we live in it’s who you know and not what you know that matters.
Your self revolution is improperly named if you cannot take a step Jack…every revolution has left bodies lying in it’s wake…every uprising has ran over the previous regime…every successful human being has stepped on the toes of someone on their rise to the top…its part of life Jack and that is what people associate with. They associate with the man that works hard, regardless of what that work is. On the other hand they have zero respect for the other man that pussy foots through life making sure not to hurt anyone’s feelings, not to step on any cracks and not to screw anyone over along the way. Wrestling, just like the business world is in fact a dog eat dog world Jacko and I am the big dog around here, and once again you are going to find out that the smaller dog will get eaten.
~*~*~Once again Lance flicks on the television screen in front of him and we see a split screen that shows images of all of the matches that Lance and Reckless Jack have opposed one another in. The tag matches, the singles matches, everything…Lance stares at the screen for a moment and then laughs to himself again.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: Jacko, you keep throwing out these comments that I have never beat you one on one before in a clean match...nothing that has happened before matters anymore...nothing before this is of consequence...this is the bottom of the ninth inning and the bases are loaded, this is game seven of the Stanley cup finals, this is the Super Bowl for you Reckless Jack...you either win and take home all of the prizes or you walk away the same defeated middle of the road wrestler that I believe you are.
Not one of these matches matters anymore, during all of these moments there was some semblance of a friendship between the two of us…at each of these moments in time there was friendly competition between us. That will all change this Sunday Jack…this Sunday the mood has been changed…my crosshairs are firmly set upon you, you are nothing more than the next victim, the next step, the enemy. You have become my enemy Reckless Jack and I am again inspired. Inspired to defeat you, inspired to keep my title, inspired to keep wrestling….
~*~*~Lance shuts off the television now and gets up and walks over to one of the windows in the room and stares out into the darkness.~*~*~[/i]
Lance Ryan: Reckless Jack. All those years ago I held you back. I kept you down because it was what was best for you. You were not ready to become THE MAN in NWA. Now, here we are over two years later and the reality is that you have not manned up, you have not learned the lessons that I have tried to teach you over the years and you are destined still at this rate to be nothing more than an epic failure. Failure Jack, that’s what most people see when they look at you, for years I defended you, for years I told them that they were wrong and that you would one day become the biggest name in this sport…truth is…they were right all along, you are a half-assed failure. This Sunday I plan to show them all that I was wrong when I mop the floor with your lackluster knowledge of what it takes to be the man around here…real stars shine in the dark Reckless Jack and your star is struggling to even shine at all.
~*~*~FIN~*~*~[/i]