Post by Angel on Oct 30, 2008 20:01:27 GMT -6
I keep thinking to myself that this isn't real. I know, weird right. See, in my entire career I've never been the main guy. I've never been the face of a company. So now here I stand after ten years, and I'm literally about to step forward and become the face of nCw. It's pretty surreal. I look around, I see allot of people who were something some place else. They all have names and histories that they could go on and on about for years and years, I do too. But my past is just that, and I've come to realize that it needs to stay in the past. nCw is the first place that has ever given me the opportunity to shine and that's why I call nCw my home. Though,sometimes it feels like I have allot of people who wanna "choke" me out, I'm still proud to be here.
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( Our scene opens with Angel, dressed in blue jeans and a plain black t-shirt answering his front door. A man in a UPS outfit hands Angel a large sealed envelope. Angel signs something then hands it back to him before he closes the door and heads to the kitchen where his wife Shelly is preparing some lunch for their family. Shelly dressed in a white tank top and blue jeans. Their daughter, Hayleigh, wearing only a pink pair of underwear runs rampant in the living room. )
Shelly: What do you got there babe?
Angel: Some package from nCw.
Shelly: Don't they steal you away from us enough? Do they really need to bother you at home too?
( Angel sighs. )
Shelly: What? Now I can't give my opinion around here anymore?
Angel: Shell, it's not like that, I'm sure whatever it is, it's important. Hell they sent it here as quickly as possible...
( Shelly stops preparing the grilled cheese sand wiches and turns around. )
Shelly: You already know what they sent you, don't you?
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I still remember the day Leonard called me up. It was a simple phone call. He asked me if I still wrestled, then when he heard my answer, which was no by the way, he asked me if I wanted too. He told me that he had the perfect place for me. The X-Division. He said I was made for it. I told him I wanted to think about it and that's when he said he only had room for one of us right now. I was confused so I asked him what he meant. He said I'm offering a one year contract to either you or Falcon from PWW, take it or leave it, I've got him on the other line. The X-Division was sort of suffering at the time and he wasn't fully prepared to invest a whole hell of allot of money in it, unless I joined up. I didn't hesitate. See, at the time, I still harbored a deep hatred for Falcon, I took the contract out of spite with only a small amount of passion to back it up. Little did I know I'd give Leonard a reason to sign Falcon. Shelly was upset with me, very upset. Our daughter wasn't even two yet, I hadn't stepped in a ring in almost three years. She was afraid I wouldn't be around or that I'd get hurt, or worse. Turns out she was right on all accounts.
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Angel: I might have an idea, yeah.
( Hayleigh comes charging into the room on a big battery operated "Lighting McQueen" and slams right into Angel's leg. )
Angel: Ah, dammit.
( Hayleigh giggles as she speeds off back into the living room. Shelly stares daggers into her husband. )
Angel: If she wasn't so damn cute.
Shelly: Angel, don't change the subject, what the hell did they send you?
Angel: Why do you have to be like this whenever it comes to nCw? You wanted to stop bringing Hayleigh on the road with us, I did that, you wanted to stop coming on the road with me, I did that. I've accommodated you every step of the way. What else do you want from me, my soul?
Shelly: I want the truth, what did they send you?
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Ever since that day, when I answered that phone call, I've been fighting to prove to the world I'm everything I say I am. But there's more to it than that. I've gotta prove it to myself. There is no worse enemy than yourself and sometimes that's the only one I'm facing. Sure, I've come across allot of hard challenges in nCw, but I've also come to the conclusion that all of my biggest challenges were men who were some how reflections of myself. I battled with Falcon who I would say is a better version of me, a true competitor. Xavier who I could say is a darker version of me, a man possessed by his own desires. Then there's Steve Awesome. If it wasn't for all the wealth the man surrounds himself with, and the fact that I'm WAY better looking, you'd think we were related. But each and every one some how represents another version of me and I them. None of them were easy to over come, and it appears the challenges are only getting harder as I go along. But I'm ready for anything and everything nCw has to throw at me. There are still quite a few people I haven't beaten on this roster yet. Everyman, I'm looking at you.
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Angel: Is it really that important right now? I got the week off except for Sunday, so could we please just have a nice week for once?
Shelly: For once? Like it's my fault your never home and when you are all you can talk about is your next match, or when your getting a World title shot. As if your gonna win it.
( Angel takes several steps closer to Shelly, squinting at her. )
Angel: Excuse me?
Shelly: Are you ****ing stupid and deaf? I said your not going to win Angel, not now, not ever.
( Angel shakes his head for a second, obviously confused. )
Angel: You don't mean that, your just mad right?
( In a mocking gesture, Shelly shakes her head too. )
Shelly: No, it's not because I'm mad. It's because your not going to beat Steve Awesome, because for once in your whole *** damn life Angel isn't going to get what Angel wants. Your going to lose, ****ing deal with it.
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I really don't know what to say. I know I've been given the opportunity of a life time with nCw. They called me up and offered me the world when I deserved nothing of the sort. I sat at home for three years, I had given up on wrestling, nearly lost my passion. I truly thought that there was nothing left for me. I've never been one for delusions of grandeur, I've never fantasized about being the face of a company for any amount of time. Hell, there was a time when I'd just be happy to be on TV. But all of that changed when I came here. At first I just wanted to show up Falcon and collect a pay check. It didn't take very long for nCw to awaken something inside of me. Something I didn't even know was there.
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Angel: You don't mean that. Your just pissed off, you always say **** like that when your pissed.
Shelly: How about I'm sick of nCw. I'm sick of you being in nCw... You know what? How about I'm just ****ing sick of you!
( Hayleigh was about to come back in to the room, but after hearing her mother yell, she turns around and heads off down the hall, purposely stamping her feet the whole way. )
Angel: Great, now you've upset her.
Shelly: Then why don't you run off and "save" her from her evil mommy. God knows I'm just such a bitch because I want you home a little more often.
Angel: If it was up to you I'd never leave the ****ing house.
Shelly: No, if it were up to me you would have never joined nC ****ing W. You would have gone and done something productive with your life for once.
Angel: I'm sorry that wrestling doesn't live up to your high ****ing standards Ice Queen. God knows your raking in the money... Oh, that's right, you got fired, huh?
Shelly: **** you.
Angel: No thanks, maybe when you stop acting like a ****ing cunt bitch.
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It took me a few months to get back into ring shape, but when I got here, I was better than I had ever been. I don't know what it was. I don't remember ever being this good. I don't remember ever loving it this much. I don't remember ever having this same kind of drive. I don't remember ever having so much fun in the wrestling ring, or when cutting promos. When I stepped into an nCw ring, when I saw these fans, something sparked in me that was never there before. When Falcon and I went to war with each other in a Steel Cage, and at the end of that match the fans stood up and applauded us both... I saw my future, my destiny. For the first time in my entire career I saw what I could become.
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( Shelly rips the envelope out of Angel's hands. )
Angel: Give it back.
( Shelly makes like she's gonna rip it in half. )
Angel: Give it back NOW!
Shelly: Why, what is it?
Angel: None of your damn business.
Shelly: Then I guess it isn't important.
( She begins to tear the envelope. )
Angel: I swear to god Shell...
Shelly: What are you gonna do? Cry in a church promo about it?
Angel: It's a contract...
( Shelly stares at Angel like he's got three heads. )
Shelly: A what?
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I saw no more long nights sleeping in my car. No more ****ty hotel rooms, sharing my bed with bugs and the homeless. No more eating from fast food chains off the dollar menus. No more struggling. I saw a future filled with spot lights, with limos, with champagne and money and gold. I saw a future where I was the World Heavy Weight Champion and there wasn't a man, woman, or child in the world that didn't respect me. I saw a future where I wasn't chained down by my size, but actually appreciated and loved for it. All of these things could be mine, I knew it, I knew some how I could make it happen, if only I could work hard enough, be good enough, not let anything stand in my way. There was only one problem, but that problem some how resolved itself.
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Angel: A contract... From nCw...
Shelly: For what?
Angel: An extension on my current deal.
Shelly: For how long?
Angel:.............
Shelly: For how long?!
( Angel looks away. )
Shelly: You better start ****ing talking Angel.
( She starts to rip again. )
Angel: Three years...
Shelly: What?
Angel: Three years...
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In my whole career I have never been loved or accepted by the fans. But something happened that night I tried to kill Falcon. Maybe the people just recognized the passion that had been awakened in me, or perhaps they just thought I was cool, whatever it was, the fans began to cheer for me. Only a handful at first, but then more and more and more. Some backstage tell me I'm bending over back wards to please the fans, but I'm pretty sure if you take a look back you'll see that I haven't really changed my routine since I got here. Finally I had it, everything I needed to reach the top. The skills, the ambition, and the fans. I had it all and I began to make my climb...
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Shelly: Your going to be thirty next month, your daughter is going to be three in a few months, our wedding anniversary is coming up... I thought when your contract ran out in December that was going to be the end of it? You told me you were going to wrestle for a year, get it out of your system and retire, you promised me it would only be for a year, to bring in some cash, to buy us a house, to get us out of debt. WHAT THE **** DO YOU MEAN THREE YEARS!
Angel: They want me to stay...
Shelly: And I don't.
Angel: They offered me more money.
Shelly: I don't care. I want you home again. We have enough money to get us into old age and her through college.
( Tears well up in Shelly's eyes. )
Shelly: I just want you back Angel...
( He tries to hug her and she pushes him away. )
Shelly: When is it going to end this time? Three years from now? And if they offer you another contract?
Angel: I'm about to fight for the World title Shell. I can't just retire after I win it.
Shelly: You could if you don't win it.
Angel: You don't want me to win, so then I can walk away... don't you?
( Shelly just stares at him, her eyes say "yes." )
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I have climbed the mountain of nCw. I have defeated every challenge laid before me. The only thing I have left is to either knock Steve Awesome off the top of the mountain, or be knocked off myself... by myself.
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( Shelly tears the envelope open and pulls out the contract. She tosses it on the table. )
Shelly: Right now, make a choice.
Angel: What?
Shelly: Make a choice, me or them. Pick.
Angel: I'm not doing this.
Shelly: You better ****ing believe you are, or I rip up that contract then I throw you out of the house.
Angel: Please babe...
Shelly: I've been number two for a year, pick one.
( Angel slowly walks forward, he takes his wife in a long, loving hug. They pull back and exchange a passionate kiss, extremely expressive of their true love for one another. Shelly looks into Angel's eyes, and they both look like they're going to cry. )
Angel: I'm sorry...
( Angel takes a pen out of his pocket and bends down to sign his name to the contract. Shelly looks like she is about to just explode, the feelings swelling in her are indescribable. )
Shelly: Please, get out.
Angel: Can I say bye to Hayleigh?
Shelly: GET OUT!
( With no other choice, Angel takes the contract and goes to walk out of the kitchen. He turns only to be startled by his daughter. She's holding her most beloved stuffed pink lion. A lion Angel bought her at the hospital where she was born on their way out. )
Hayleigh: I love you daddy.
Angel: I love you too pumpkin.
Hayleigh: You take.
( Hayleigh hands him the lion, Angel, doing everything he can to hold back the tears takes the lion as he bends down and kisses his daughter. )
Angel: See you soon munchkin.
Hayleigh: Love you mostess DADDY!
( Hayleigh takes off down the hall way again. Angel stands up, gripping his new three year deal with nCw in his left hand, his daughter's favorite lion in his right. Shelly is still standing behind him, waiting for something, but whatever it is, she wouldn't accept it if Angel tried. Angel using all the strength he has left walks out the door. Fade. )
Now all I have to do is rise above my own demons and beat myself. That's it. It's not a matter of beating Steve Awesome, I've already beaten him, he's already given in. All I have to do is beat myself. Life's funny, right when you think you have everything, the most important thing gets taken away from you. Then you have to make a choice. I could have chosen to stay home, to throw out my contract, to wrestle Steve and probably lose, because I would have convinced myself by Sunday that I no longer wanted this. But I'd be lying to myself. I do want this, it's all I've wanted for a while now. All that time I spent not wrestling, raising a daughter, having a "real" life, I dreamed about this. I have it now, everything I could want, and for the second time my family walks away from me. What am I supposed to do? Go home, hate Shelly for taking this away from me?
I can't do that. I understand why she's mad, and she's gonna have to understand why I need to do this. We all make sacrifices in life, and quite honestly I don't think anyone besides the people in the armed services make as big a sacrifice as a professional wrestler. I've come to far now, given up too much, gained too much. If I walked away right now, knowing what I know and being what I am, I could never live with myself. I'm so close to the World title that I feel like it's on my shoulder already. Even if I lose to Awesome, I know that I'm at least good enough to get there, that I'm good enough to get the shot, and I'll know what I need to do to improve.
I came to the conclusion months ago that wrestling is all I was ever meant to do, and this is only the final confirmation of it. I love my daughter, I love my wife... but I need to do this. Don't mis understand Steve, this isn't a sign of weakness. My mind will be on you come Sunday. The only reason I've shown you this is because I need you to understand why I do what I do. You do it for the money and the pussy, I do it for all the things you take for granted. If nothing else the entire world has watched me this last year as my home life has slowly fallen apart to the point where my only life and my only family are nCw. Maybe that's why I need to defend her, to protect her. Maybe that's why I'm so determined to take that title off of you. Your self preservation and your giant ego are destroying nCw, your mindless self indulgence is raping nCw of it's valuable resources, and most of all your being our World Champion is killing me... Simply because you don't deserve it anymore Steve. Not as long as I'm around.
( We open back up in a bar. Angel is seated at the bar, his head slumped, a beer in his hand. Somewhere in the background there is a game playing, it doesn't really matter which one. It's been over an hour since the big blow out, Angel took off, to gather his thoughts. He tries to hide his true feelings from the people around him, but the few bar patrons notice the man with the tears in his eyes and the dread locks on his head. Angel feels lost, unwanted, Shelly is everything he's ever wanted in a woman, and for whatever reason he keeps pushing her away. Sometimes he doesn't understand himself. Maybe he just doesn't want her to get hurt, so he tries to drive her away. Who knows? What Angel doesn't know, or understand is that Shelly was made for him, that's why she's tracked him down to this bar and is now seated next to him. )
Shelly: We just can't stop doing this to each other, can we?
( With the slightest bit of effort, Angel turns to look at her. )
Shelly: Every time things start going right for us, something happens to **** it up. Why?
Angel: Because I'm an idiot.
Shelly: You get mad at me, I get mad at you, we yell, you leave and go drinking, I stay at home and cry. Same old dance, how does it end this time.
Angel: How ever you want to end it, I'm staying with nCw.
Shelly: I shouldn't of asked you to leave. I'm sorry Angel.
( Angel looks again to his wife, the words "I'm sorry" were said with such feeling, such care, she truly is sorry for something. )
Angel: For what?
Shelly: I was being selfish. This is your life, your career, and I should be happy for you, not trying to take it away because I'm jealous. I see you on TV and I know that your doing what you were built to do. So I'm sorry for saying what I said.
( Angel leans forward and hugs her. )
Angel: Don't be sorry babe. We fought, it happens.
Shelly: When you first signed your contract, I don't know, I thought some how things weren't going to change, I lied to myself. I know you do what you can, wrestle as few dates as possible, it's just when I'm asleep at night and there's no one there except Hayleigh, I feel like I've been abandoned. I can only be strong for two people for so long.
( He pushes her back and holds her face. )
Angel: I love you Shell, I always have.
Shelly: I want you to do what makes you happy Angel, and if that means several more years of spending my Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays alone... Then I guess we'll have to make the rest of our week together that much more special.
Angel: You don't want me to quit then?
Shelly: No, I want you to beat the living **** out of Steve Awesome so *** damn bad that the next time the pompous asshole even considers looking in your general direction he immediately ****s himself all over and runs away screaming.
Angel: Shell, I've been waiting all week to hear you say that...
RISING UP!
BACK ON THE STREET!
DID MY TIME TOOK MY CHANCES!
( The door to the bar is kicked open as Angel steps out in a gray hoodie and sweet pants. He throws a left jab, a right hook, then flurry punches. He jumps around before he takes off running down the dark lit street in the middle of Bristol. )
Angel: Went the distance now I'm back on my feet, just a man and his will to survive!
( We snap back to the bar, where Angel, again in the clothes he was wearing earlier this day, and Shelly sit, sharing a beer. )
Shelly: Eye of the Tiger?
Angel: And that is why I don't drink Vodka...
( All of a sudden Sexy Jason takes the water bottle from his right pocket and takes the lid off of the bottle. He takes a drink from the bottle. He places the lid back on and places it back in his right pocket... ****, wrong promo, Fade out. But seriously, he did that like twenty times in his promo the other day... Is it that hard to do something else in the middle of a paragraph. It's almost as original as "The Angel grins." Jesus H. Christ dude... Sorry... Just me randomly ranting. The Angel sighs...)
I've been thinking allot lately, obviously, and there is something that keeps popping back in my head. Falcon and his seeming complacence. Don't get me wrong, I respect Falcon, he's the closest thing I have to a brother, it's just... There's something about him I don't get. Don't worry I have a point. This weekend he's battling for the National title, which he deserves, and as much as he pretends, he really doesn't care if he wins. Wrestling isn't about titles or money for him, all he really cares about is kicking Kole's ass. That's it. If from this day forward Falcon never carries a strap again, it won't bother him. He'll still look himself in the mirror and be like "Well I had a great career anyways." Now the point. The fact that he can do that, it amazes me and confuses me at the same time. See, people like Steve and myself, we can't do that. If we don't win matches and win titles, if we don't have something to show for all our work, we deem it as a failure. We're pissed at ourselves and the people around us. We absolutely need, no, crave that sort of confirmation of our own talent and all around "value" as a performer. Some of us are willing to sacrifice our own morals, our own souls just for the chance at the World Heavy Weight title, others just work as hard as humanly possible. Steve has what he has always wanted, proof that for at least right now he is "better than you." And that in itself is the point. I've been a bad guy. I've been a good guy. I've been a traitor and a savior... All I want now is to be World Heavy Weight Champion. But I'm going to do it my way.
( We open up for the last time to find Angel, usual attire, seated in a chair with a black background, waiting for the go ahead. )
Angel: You want my best Steve? You want me to do to you what I did to Falcon, Xavier, and Manson? Okay Steve, you got my best, you were always going to get my best. You wanna make excuses for being a pansy bitch, do it, you wanna make up a reason for running away, do it. I don't believe a ****ing word Steve. I've heard it all before, and honestly, I'm tired of caring. I'm tired of listening to people like you list off reasons why people like me will never make it.
News flash asshole, I've come as far as you, in the same amount of time as you, and just as many people know who I am. I did it as a Heel, I did it as a Face, I did it by just being me. You say **** my rules? I'm gonna ask you, what ****ing rules? When have I ever followed the rules? When I blindly chased Falcon for five weeks, destroying him in three different matches? Did I follow rules when I did everything in my power to try and end Xavier Williams career? Tell me oh great and powerful Oz, what ****ing rules did I follow? Steve, I'll beat your ass in a singles match, I'll beat your ass in a hard core match, I'll beat your ass in an octagon, I'll beat your ass anywhere, any time. Rules, no rules, whatever. It doesn't make a difference to me. I got to where I'm at by doing what I always do. Winning. And guess what retard? Not once, and you can quote me on this, not once have I ever cheated to win. Not once has anyone helped me. I'm getting a World Title shot because I've beaten everyone nCw has ever put in front of me.
I'm not here for the fans. I've said that. I'm here for me. If they like me, if they cheer for me, I let them. I have never once sought their acceptance Steve. So you go ahead and you tell me WHY you had to cheat, WHY you had to lie, WHY you had to injure all your competition. While your at it why don't you just reach down your throat and pull out your own cock, because I'm tired of watching you suck it on national television. The only thing you have on me is that World Title, that's it Steve. That's it. And soon you won't even have that.
You wanna throw it in my face, you wanna try and hold me down, you wanna tell me everything I've done means nothing? **** you Steve. I don't care what you think about me. I never have. You seem to be under the false presumption that your opinion actually matters to me. That the things you say actually hold some kind of value to me. They don't. And a as a matter of fact, if you did die tomorrow, I would show up to your funeral. I'd dress to the nines, I'd bring my family, I'd even buy a new camera. Just so Shelly could grab a picture of me pissing all over your rotting corpse. What I've done for nCw, I did for me and my career. I didn't nearly kill myself for buy rates, I damn sure didn't do it to make the people happy. So if you didn't enjoy my CZW style rip off match, **** you then. That match wasn't for you. That match was so I could take Xavier Williams and show him exactly where he ****ed up in his line of thinking. Check this out real quick Helen Keller. Xavier, he ****ed with me, he cheated me out of a title, but in the end he couldn't beat me "his" way, which at the time was similar to "your" way. But I guess that's when you threw the blinders up, apparently missing the part where one on one, his way wasn't good enough. Just like Sunday, where "your" way is going to fail and for the first time in your career someone is actually going to shove your face strait into all that **** you like to talk.
See Steve, I'm not really mad about what you said, I expected that. I expected you to freak out like a little child and try and "one up" me with a trash talk fest of epic proportions. Tell me Steve, exactly who was bitching? The only person constantly bringing up what you did to me, is, well, you numb-nuts. Guess that means I'm bitching... again... somehow... vicariously through you... Idiot.
When is it exactly that your going to open up your eyes Steve? Have you just been sitting around all week building yourself up? And what is it that you don't understand? These are the things I want to know Steve. Don't whine and cry about the people hating you, they've always hated you, and just to save you time, yes it's because your Awesome. Don't stroke your ego about how you out smarted me, what? Once? Wow... I want you Steve to really just sit down and think about this. I didn't align myself with Ace and I didn't ask Xavier to join me to "even the odds." Ace got tired of living in the shadow of your ego, and that was your fault. All the dude wanted was a little respect from his best friend. ****, even we gave him a "little" respect. I don't like Ace, I find him as boring as you do, and personally, I wish he, Sexy Jason and Jackhammer would all just commit suicide, preferably at the same time. But I do have to say, Ace has actually stood up to me and lost like a man, without cowering behind the Empire, or crying like a little girl endlessly. And Xavier, he's a warrior, we're in a war... So I surround myself with people who are going to fight, not the motley crew of carbon copy Rick Rude's you like to surround yourself with.
We all know what I can do, we've seen it. We all know the lengths I'll go to to get what I want. We all know that my physical well being means very little to me. You know these things. You know how dangerous I can be. And yet you test me. Why Steve? After everything you've done, after all the competitors you've ducked and dodged, after every match you've cheated to win or just walked away from, why have you chosen me to "test" yourself against? I just don't see how that's a good idea. What makes me so special Steve? All you ever do is make fun of me, try and point out my flaws. Constantly concern yourself with my hair and my clothes and how much money I make. Yet, you chose me to "test" yourself against.
And I'm supposed to be honored? I guess, right? I'm supposed to be happy that Steve Awesome is trying to find where he left his nut sack by pissing me off? Well, in that case. I'm so honored you've chosen this moment to grow a pair. I hope in the future, you know, after I rip your head off, your able to stand up to all of your opponents like your "standing" up to me, instead of pulling the standard "Steve Awesome."
"OH ****! Trouble, well, time to bury my head in the sand and wait till someone else takes care of it. Kole, don't touch me there."
Steve, look me in the eyes. I'm not a man made of excuses, like you. I don't live in a glass house, like you. I'm not going to whine and cry about anything, like you. You beat me, that's fine, doesn't mean I'll give up, it just means you'll have earned my respect.
But to be honest with you, I don't think you can beat me. I don't think you have it in you. It took Jack Manson, Chris Diamond and Rob Diamond for Xavier Williams to beat me in a Last Man Standing Match. As good as you can be Steve, on your best day, on my worst, you don't equal four wrestlers. You don't even equal two. Because at the end of the day your just little Stevie with the dream of one day being the World's Greatest. The only problem with little Stevie's dream is no one ever told him you had to be GOOD at wrestling to get to the top.
You've gotten this far Steve, your the World Champion... But your never going to be a legend, your never going to be a hall of famer, your never going to be remembered, and you'll never beat me.
When the day comes that nCw closes it's doors, the only place your going to be able to find the name Steve Awesome is in the record books just after mine.
November 2nd, 2008
Angel defeated Steve Awesome, via pin fall to become nCw World Heavy Weight Champion.
( Fade bitch. )
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( Our scene opens with Angel, dressed in blue jeans and a plain black t-shirt answering his front door. A man in a UPS outfit hands Angel a large sealed envelope. Angel signs something then hands it back to him before he closes the door and heads to the kitchen where his wife Shelly is preparing some lunch for their family. Shelly dressed in a white tank top and blue jeans. Their daughter, Hayleigh, wearing only a pink pair of underwear runs rampant in the living room. )
Shelly: What do you got there babe?
Angel: Some package from nCw.
Shelly: Don't they steal you away from us enough? Do they really need to bother you at home too?
( Angel sighs. )
Shelly: What? Now I can't give my opinion around here anymore?
Angel: Shell, it's not like that, I'm sure whatever it is, it's important. Hell they sent it here as quickly as possible...
( Shelly stops preparing the grilled cheese sand wiches and turns around. )
Shelly: You already know what they sent you, don't you?
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I still remember the day Leonard called me up. It was a simple phone call. He asked me if I still wrestled, then when he heard my answer, which was no by the way, he asked me if I wanted too. He told me that he had the perfect place for me. The X-Division. He said I was made for it. I told him I wanted to think about it and that's when he said he only had room for one of us right now. I was confused so I asked him what he meant. He said I'm offering a one year contract to either you or Falcon from PWW, take it or leave it, I've got him on the other line. The X-Division was sort of suffering at the time and he wasn't fully prepared to invest a whole hell of allot of money in it, unless I joined up. I didn't hesitate. See, at the time, I still harbored a deep hatred for Falcon, I took the contract out of spite with only a small amount of passion to back it up. Little did I know I'd give Leonard a reason to sign Falcon. Shelly was upset with me, very upset. Our daughter wasn't even two yet, I hadn't stepped in a ring in almost three years. She was afraid I wouldn't be around or that I'd get hurt, or worse. Turns out she was right on all accounts.
-----------------------------------------
Angel: I might have an idea, yeah.
( Hayleigh comes charging into the room on a big battery operated "Lighting McQueen" and slams right into Angel's leg. )
Angel: Ah, dammit.
( Hayleigh giggles as she speeds off back into the living room. Shelly stares daggers into her husband. )
Angel: If she wasn't so damn cute.
Shelly: Angel, don't change the subject, what the hell did they send you?
Angel: Why do you have to be like this whenever it comes to nCw? You wanted to stop bringing Hayleigh on the road with us, I did that, you wanted to stop coming on the road with me, I did that. I've accommodated you every step of the way. What else do you want from me, my soul?
Shelly: I want the truth, what did they send you?
---------------------------------------------
Ever since that day, when I answered that phone call, I've been fighting to prove to the world I'm everything I say I am. But there's more to it than that. I've gotta prove it to myself. There is no worse enemy than yourself and sometimes that's the only one I'm facing. Sure, I've come across allot of hard challenges in nCw, but I've also come to the conclusion that all of my biggest challenges were men who were some how reflections of myself. I battled with Falcon who I would say is a better version of me, a true competitor. Xavier who I could say is a darker version of me, a man possessed by his own desires. Then there's Steve Awesome. If it wasn't for all the wealth the man surrounds himself with, and the fact that I'm WAY better looking, you'd think we were related. But each and every one some how represents another version of me and I them. None of them were easy to over come, and it appears the challenges are only getting harder as I go along. But I'm ready for anything and everything nCw has to throw at me. There are still quite a few people I haven't beaten on this roster yet. Everyman, I'm looking at you.
-------------------------------------------------
Angel: Is it really that important right now? I got the week off except for Sunday, so could we please just have a nice week for once?
Shelly: For once? Like it's my fault your never home and when you are all you can talk about is your next match, or when your getting a World title shot. As if your gonna win it.
( Angel takes several steps closer to Shelly, squinting at her. )
Angel: Excuse me?
Shelly: Are you ****ing stupid and deaf? I said your not going to win Angel, not now, not ever.
( Angel shakes his head for a second, obviously confused. )
Angel: You don't mean that, your just mad right?
( In a mocking gesture, Shelly shakes her head too. )
Shelly: No, it's not because I'm mad. It's because your not going to beat Steve Awesome, because for once in your whole *** damn life Angel isn't going to get what Angel wants. Your going to lose, ****ing deal with it.
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I really don't know what to say. I know I've been given the opportunity of a life time with nCw. They called me up and offered me the world when I deserved nothing of the sort. I sat at home for three years, I had given up on wrestling, nearly lost my passion. I truly thought that there was nothing left for me. I've never been one for delusions of grandeur, I've never fantasized about being the face of a company for any amount of time. Hell, there was a time when I'd just be happy to be on TV. But all of that changed when I came here. At first I just wanted to show up Falcon and collect a pay check. It didn't take very long for nCw to awaken something inside of me. Something I didn't even know was there.
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Angel: You don't mean that. Your just pissed off, you always say **** like that when your pissed.
Shelly: How about I'm sick of nCw. I'm sick of you being in nCw... You know what? How about I'm just ****ing sick of you!
( Hayleigh was about to come back in to the room, but after hearing her mother yell, she turns around and heads off down the hall, purposely stamping her feet the whole way. )
Angel: Great, now you've upset her.
Shelly: Then why don't you run off and "save" her from her evil mommy. God knows I'm just such a bitch because I want you home a little more often.
Angel: If it was up to you I'd never leave the ****ing house.
Shelly: No, if it were up to me you would have never joined nC ****ing W. You would have gone and done something productive with your life for once.
Angel: I'm sorry that wrestling doesn't live up to your high ****ing standards Ice Queen. God knows your raking in the money... Oh, that's right, you got fired, huh?
Shelly: **** you.
Angel: No thanks, maybe when you stop acting like a ****ing cunt bitch.
-------------------------------------
It took me a few months to get back into ring shape, but when I got here, I was better than I had ever been. I don't know what it was. I don't remember ever being this good. I don't remember ever loving it this much. I don't remember ever having this same kind of drive. I don't remember ever having so much fun in the wrestling ring, or when cutting promos. When I stepped into an nCw ring, when I saw these fans, something sparked in me that was never there before. When Falcon and I went to war with each other in a Steel Cage, and at the end of that match the fans stood up and applauded us both... I saw my future, my destiny. For the first time in my entire career I saw what I could become.
-----------------------------------
( Shelly rips the envelope out of Angel's hands. )
Angel: Give it back.
( Shelly makes like she's gonna rip it in half. )
Angel: Give it back NOW!
Shelly: Why, what is it?
Angel: None of your damn business.
Shelly: Then I guess it isn't important.
( She begins to tear the envelope. )
Angel: I swear to god Shell...
Shelly: What are you gonna do? Cry in a church promo about it?
Angel: It's a contract...
( Shelly stares at Angel like he's got three heads. )
Shelly: A what?
------------------------------------
I saw no more long nights sleeping in my car. No more ****ty hotel rooms, sharing my bed with bugs and the homeless. No more eating from fast food chains off the dollar menus. No more struggling. I saw a future filled with spot lights, with limos, with champagne and money and gold. I saw a future where I was the World Heavy Weight Champion and there wasn't a man, woman, or child in the world that didn't respect me. I saw a future where I wasn't chained down by my size, but actually appreciated and loved for it. All of these things could be mine, I knew it, I knew some how I could make it happen, if only I could work hard enough, be good enough, not let anything stand in my way. There was only one problem, but that problem some how resolved itself.
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Angel: A contract... From nCw...
Shelly: For what?
Angel: An extension on my current deal.
Shelly: For how long?
Angel:.............
Shelly: For how long?!
( Angel looks away. )
Shelly: You better start ****ing talking Angel.
( She starts to rip again. )
Angel: Three years...
Shelly: What?
Angel: Three years...
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In my whole career I have never been loved or accepted by the fans. But something happened that night I tried to kill Falcon. Maybe the people just recognized the passion that had been awakened in me, or perhaps they just thought I was cool, whatever it was, the fans began to cheer for me. Only a handful at first, but then more and more and more. Some backstage tell me I'm bending over back wards to please the fans, but I'm pretty sure if you take a look back you'll see that I haven't really changed my routine since I got here. Finally I had it, everything I needed to reach the top. The skills, the ambition, and the fans. I had it all and I began to make my climb...
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Shelly: Your going to be thirty next month, your daughter is going to be three in a few months, our wedding anniversary is coming up... I thought when your contract ran out in December that was going to be the end of it? You told me you were going to wrestle for a year, get it out of your system and retire, you promised me it would only be for a year, to bring in some cash, to buy us a house, to get us out of debt. WHAT THE **** DO YOU MEAN THREE YEARS!
Angel: They want me to stay...
Shelly: And I don't.
Angel: They offered me more money.
Shelly: I don't care. I want you home again. We have enough money to get us into old age and her through college.
( Tears well up in Shelly's eyes. )
Shelly: I just want you back Angel...
( He tries to hug her and she pushes him away. )
Shelly: When is it going to end this time? Three years from now? And if they offer you another contract?
Angel: I'm about to fight for the World title Shell. I can't just retire after I win it.
Shelly: You could if you don't win it.
Angel: You don't want me to win, so then I can walk away... don't you?
( Shelly just stares at him, her eyes say "yes." )
-------------------------------
I have climbed the mountain of nCw. I have defeated every challenge laid before me. The only thing I have left is to either knock Steve Awesome off the top of the mountain, or be knocked off myself... by myself.
-----------------------------
( Shelly tears the envelope open and pulls out the contract. She tosses it on the table. )
Shelly: Right now, make a choice.
Angel: What?
Shelly: Make a choice, me or them. Pick.
Angel: I'm not doing this.
Shelly: You better ****ing believe you are, or I rip up that contract then I throw you out of the house.
Angel: Please babe...
Shelly: I've been number two for a year, pick one.
( Angel slowly walks forward, he takes his wife in a long, loving hug. They pull back and exchange a passionate kiss, extremely expressive of their true love for one another. Shelly looks into Angel's eyes, and they both look like they're going to cry. )
Angel: I'm sorry...
( Angel takes a pen out of his pocket and bends down to sign his name to the contract. Shelly looks like she is about to just explode, the feelings swelling in her are indescribable. )
Shelly: Please, get out.
Angel: Can I say bye to Hayleigh?
Shelly: GET OUT!
( With no other choice, Angel takes the contract and goes to walk out of the kitchen. He turns only to be startled by his daughter. She's holding her most beloved stuffed pink lion. A lion Angel bought her at the hospital where she was born on their way out. )
Hayleigh: I love you daddy.
Angel: I love you too pumpkin.
Hayleigh: You take.
( Hayleigh hands him the lion, Angel, doing everything he can to hold back the tears takes the lion as he bends down and kisses his daughter. )
Angel: See you soon munchkin.
Hayleigh: Love you mostess DADDY!
( Hayleigh takes off down the hall way again. Angel stands up, gripping his new three year deal with nCw in his left hand, his daughter's favorite lion in his right. Shelly is still standing behind him, waiting for something, but whatever it is, she wouldn't accept it if Angel tried. Angel using all the strength he has left walks out the door. Fade. )
Now all I have to do is rise above my own demons and beat myself. That's it. It's not a matter of beating Steve Awesome, I've already beaten him, he's already given in. All I have to do is beat myself. Life's funny, right when you think you have everything, the most important thing gets taken away from you. Then you have to make a choice. I could have chosen to stay home, to throw out my contract, to wrestle Steve and probably lose, because I would have convinced myself by Sunday that I no longer wanted this. But I'd be lying to myself. I do want this, it's all I've wanted for a while now. All that time I spent not wrestling, raising a daughter, having a "real" life, I dreamed about this. I have it now, everything I could want, and for the second time my family walks away from me. What am I supposed to do? Go home, hate Shelly for taking this away from me?
I can't do that. I understand why she's mad, and she's gonna have to understand why I need to do this. We all make sacrifices in life, and quite honestly I don't think anyone besides the people in the armed services make as big a sacrifice as a professional wrestler. I've come to far now, given up too much, gained too much. If I walked away right now, knowing what I know and being what I am, I could never live with myself. I'm so close to the World title that I feel like it's on my shoulder already. Even if I lose to Awesome, I know that I'm at least good enough to get there, that I'm good enough to get the shot, and I'll know what I need to do to improve.
I came to the conclusion months ago that wrestling is all I was ever meant to do, and this is only the final confirmation of it. I love my daughter, I love my wife... but I need to do this. Don't mis understand Steve, this isn't a sign of weakness. My mind will be on you come Sunday. The only reason I've shown you this is because I need you to understand why I do what I do. You do it for the money and the pussy, I do it for all the things you take for granted. If nothing else the entire world has watched me this last year as my home life has slowly fallen apart to the point where my only life and my only family are nCw. Maybe that's why I need to defend her, to protect her. Maybe that's why I'm so determined to take that title off of you. Your self preservation and your giant ego are destroying nCw, your mindless self indulgence is raping nCw of it's valuable resources, and most of all your being our World Champion is killing me... Simply because you don't deserve it anymore Steve. Not as long as I'm around.
( We open back up in a bar. Angel is seated at the bar, his head slumped, a beer in his hand. Somewhere in the background there is a game playing, it doesn't really matter which one. It's been over an hour since the big blow out, Angel took off, to gather his thoughts. He tries to hide his true feelings from the people around him, but the few bar patrons notice the man with the tears in his eyes and the dread locks on his head. Angel feels lost, unwanted, Shelly is everything he's ever wanted in a woman, and for whatever reason he keeps pushing her away. Sometimes he doesn't understand himself. Maybe he just doesn't want her to get hurt, so he tries to drive her away. Who knows? What Angel doesn't know, or understand is that Shelly was made for him, that's why she's tracked him down to this bar and is now seated next to him. )
Shelly: We just can't stop doing this to each other, can we?
( With the slightest bit of effort, Angel turns to look at her. )
Shelly: Every time things start going right for us, something happens to **** it up. Why?
Angel: Because I'm an idiot.
Shelly: You get mad at me, I get mad at you, we yell, you leave and go drinking, I stay at home and cry. Same old dance, how does it end this time.
Angel: How ever you want to end it, I'm staying with nCw.
Shelly: I shouldn't of asked you to leave. I'm sorry Angel.
( Angel looks again to his wife, the words "I'm sorry" were said with such feeling, such care, she truly is sorry for something. )
Angel: For what?
Shelly: I was being selfish. This is your life, your career, and I should be happy for you, not trying to take it away because I'm jealous. I see you on TV and I know that your doing what you were built to do. So I'm sorry for saying what I said.
( Angel leans forward and hugs her. )
Angel: Don't be sorry babe. We fought, it happens.
Shelly: When you first signed your contract, I don't know, I thought some how things weren't going to change, I lied to myself. I know you do what you can, wrestle as few dates as possible, it's just when I'm asleep at night and there's no one there except Hayleigh, I feel like I've been abandoned. I can only be strong for two people for so long.
( He pushes her back and holds her face. )
Angel: I love you Shell, I always have.
Shelly: I want you to do what makes you happy Angel, and if that means several more years of spending my Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays alone... Then I guess we'll have to make the rest of our week together that much more special.
Angel: You don't want me to quit then?
Shelly: No, I want you to beat the living **** out of Steve Awesome so *** damn bad that the next time the pompous asshole even considers looking in your general direction he immediately ****s himself all over and runs away screaming.
Angel: Shell, I've been waiting all week to hear you say that...
RISING UP!
BACK ON THE STREET!
DID MY TIME TOOK MY CHANCES!
( The door to the bar is kicked open as Angel steps out in a gray hoodie and sweet pants. He throws a left jab, a right hook, then flurry punches. He jumps around before he takes off running down the dark lit street in the middle of Bristol. )
Angel: Went the distance now I'm back on my feet, just a man and his will to survive!
( We snap back to the bar, where Angel, again in the clothes he was wearing earlier this day, and Shelly sit, sharing a beer. )
Shelly: Eye of the Tiger?
Angel: And that is why I don't drink Vodka...
( All of a sudden Sexy Jason takes the water bottle from his right pocket and takes the lid off of the bottle. He takes a drink from the bottle. He places the lid back on and places it back in his right pocket... ****, wrong promo, Fade out. But seriously, he did that like twenty times in his promo the other day... Is it that hard to do something else in the middle of a paragraph. It's almost as original as "The Angel grins." Jesus H. Christ dude... Sorry... Just me randomly ranting. The Angel sighs...)
I've been thinking allot lately, obviously, and there is something that keeps popping back in my head. Falcon and his seeming complacence. Don't get me wrong, I respect Falcon, he's the closest thing I have to a brother, it's just... There's something about him I don't get. Don't worry I have a point. This weekend he's battling for the National title, which he deserves, and as much as he pretends, he really doesn't care if he wins. Wrestling isn't about titles or money for him, all he really cares about is kicking Kole's ass. That's it. If from this day forward Falcon never carries a strap again, it won't bother him. He'll still look himself in the mirror and be like "Well I had a great career anyways." Now the point. The fact that he can do that, it amazes me and confuses me at the same time. See, people like Steve and myself, we can't do that. If we don't win matches and win titles, if we don't have something to show for all our work, we deem it as a failure. We're pissed at ourselves and the people around us. We absolutely need, no, crave that sort of confirmation of our own talent and all around "value" as a performer. Some of us are willing to sacrifice our own morals, our own souls just for the chance at the World Heavy Weight title, others just work as hard as humanly possible. Steve has what he has always wanted, proof that for at least right now he is "better than you." And that in itself is the point. I've been a bad guy. I've been a good guy. I've been a traitor and a savior... All I want now is to be World Heavy Weight Champion. But I'm going to do it my way.
( We open up for the last time to find Angel, usual attire, seated in a chair with a black background, waiting for the go ahead. )
Angel: You want my best Steve? You want me to do to you what I did to Falcon, Xavier, and Manson? Okay Steve, you got my best, you were always going to get my best. You wanna make excuses for being a pansy bitch, do it, you wanna make up a reason for running away, do it. I don't believe a ****ing word Steve. I've heard it all before, and honestly, I'm tired of caring. I'm tired of listening to people like you list off reasons why people like me will never make it.
News flash asshole, I've come as far as you, in the same amount of time as you, and just as many people know who I am. I did it as a Heel, I did it as a Face, I did it by just being me. You say **** my rules? I'm gonna ask you, what ****ing rules? When have I ever followed the rules? When I blindly chased Falcon for five weeks, destroying him in three different matches? Did I follow rules when I did everything in my power to try and end Xavier Williams career? Tell me oh great and powerful Oz, what ****ing rules did I follow? Steve, I'll beat your ass in a singles match, I'll beat your ass in a hard core match, I'll beat your ass in an octagon, I'll beat your ass anywhere, any time. Rules, no rules, whatever. It doesn't make a difference to me. I got to where I'm at by doing what I always do. Winning. And guess what retard? Not once, and you can quote me on this, not once have I ever cheated to win. Not once has anyone helped me. I'm getting a World Title shot because I've beaten everyone nCw has ever put in front of me.
I'm not here for the fans. I've said that. I'm here for me. If they like me, if they cheer for me, I let them. I have never once sought their acceptance Steve. So you go ahead and you tell me WHY you had to cheat, WHY you had to lie, WHY you had to injure all your competition. While your at it why don't you just reach down your throat and pull out your own cock, because I'm tired of watching you suck it on national television. The only thing you have on me is that World Title, that's it Steve. That's it. And soon you won't even have that.
You wanna throw it in my face, you wanna try and hold me down, you wanna tell me everything I've done means nothing? **** you Steve. I don't care what you think about me. I never have. You seem to be under the false presumption that your opinion actually matters to me. That the things you say actually hold some kind of value to me. They don't. And a as a matter of fact, if you did die tomorrow, I would show up to your funeral. I'd dress to the nines, I'd bring my family, I'd even buy a new camera. Just so Shelly could grab a picture of me pissing all over your rotting corpse. What I've done for nCw, I did for me and my career. I didn't nearly kill myself for buy rates, I damn sure didn't do it to make the people happy. So if you didn't enjoy my CZW style rip off match, **** you then. That match wasn't for you. That match was so I could take Xavier Williams and show him exactly where he ****ed up in his line of thinking. Check this out real quick Helen Keller. Xavier, he ****ed with me, he cheated me out of a title, but in the end he couldn't beat me "his" way, which at the time was similar to "your" way. But I guess that's when you threw the blinders up, apparently missing the part where one on one, his way wasn't good enough. Just like Sunday, where "your" way is going to fail and for the first time in your career someone is actually going to shove your face strait into all that **** you like to talk.
See Steve, I'm not really mad about what you said, I expected that. I expected you to freak out like a little child and try and "one up" me with a trash talk fest of epic proportions. Tell me Steve, exactly who was bitching? The only person constantly bringing up what you did to me, is, well, you numb-nuts. Guess that means I'm bitching... again... somehow... vicariously through you... Idiot.
When is it exactly that your going to open up your eyes Steve? Have you just been sitting around all week building yourself up? And what is it that you don't understand? These are the things I want to know Steve. Don't whine and cry about the people hating you, they've always hated you, and just to save you time, yes it's because your Awesome. Don't stroke your ego about how you out smarted me, what? Once? Wow... I want you Steve to really just sit down and think about this. I didn't align myself with Ace and I didn't ask Xavier to join me to "even the odds." Ace got tired of living in the shadow of your ego, and that was your fault. All the dude wanted was a little respect from his best friend. ****, even we gave him a "little" respect. I don't like Ace, I find him as boring as you do, and personally, I wish he, Sexy Jason and Jackhammer would all just commit suicide, preferably at the same time. But I do have to say, Ace has actually stood up to me and lost like a man, without cowering behind the Empire, or crying like a little girl endlessly. And Xavier, he's a warrior, we're in a war... So I surround myself with people who are going to fight, not the motley crew of carbon copy Rick Rude's you like to surround yourself with.
We all know what I can do, we've seen it. We all know the lengths I'll go to to get what I want. We all know that my physical well being means very little to me. You know these things. You know how dangerous I can be. And yet you test me. Why Steve? After everything you've done, after all the competitors you've ducked and dodged, after every match you've cheated to win or just walked away from, why have you chosen me to "test" yourself against? I just don't see how that's a good idea. What makes me so special Steve? All you ever do is make fun of me, try and point out my flaws. Constantly concern yourself with my hair and my clothes and how much money I make. Yet, you chose me to "test" yourself against.
And I'm supposed to be honored? I guess, right? I'm supposed to be happy that Steve Awesome is trying to find where he left his nut sack by pissing me off? Well, in that case. I'm so honored you've chosen this moment to grow a pair. I hope in the future, you know, after I rip your head off, your able to stand up to all of your opponents like your "standing" up to me, instead of pulling the standard "Steve Awesome."
"OH ****! Trouble, well, time to bury my head in the sand and wait till someone else takes care of it. Kole, don't touch me there."
Steve, look me in the eyes. I'm not a man made of excuses, like you. I don't live in a glass house, like you. I'm not going to whine and cry about anything, like you. You beat me, that's fine, doesn't mean I'll give up, it just means you'll have earned my respect.
But to be honest with you, I don't think you can beat me. I don't think you have it in you. It took Jack Manson, Chris Diamond and Rob Diamond for Xavier Williams to beat me in a Last Man Standing Match. As good as you can be Steve, on your best day, on my worst, you don't equal four wrestlers. You don't even equal two. Because at the end of the day your just little Stevie with the dream of one day being the World's Greatest. The only problem with little Stevie's dream is no one ever told him you had to be GOOD at wrestling to get to the top.
You've gotten this far Steve, your the World Champion... But your never going to be a legend, your never going to be a hall of famer, your never going to be remembered, and you'll never beat me.
When the day comes that nCw closes it's doors, the only place your going to be able to find the name Steve Awesome is in the record books just after mine.
November 2nd, 2008
Angel defeated Steve Awesome, via pin fall to become nCw World Heavy Weight Champion.
( Fade bitch. )