Post by defunctlies on Oct 31, 2008 13:43:18 GMT -6
The scene opens on Jack Hammond, sitting in the driver's seat of his grey Porche, pottering along as buildings and greenery flash by in the pale autumnal sunlight. He's smiling as he drives, and looks at the camera.
"So, I beat the mustache. Gratifying and also managed to stop my small spiral towards the inevitable depression that would overcome anyone who'd been pinned by a man who gets thrown out of hotels just by talking at a registrar."
He clears his throat, waving a hand to dismiss the thinly veiled insult.
"But needless to say, I've got bigger fish to fry. One's wearing a gold belt and is a man I've vowed to defeat countless times, and the other is wearing half a mask and is a man I've vowed to report to the proper authorities if he tortures us any further with his witty poetry."
Jack shrugs.
"I find myself looking at another chance to grab ahold of a title. You will recall that my previous efforts haven't exactly gone to plan."
He pauses and few fast-paced images of him getting pinned during a fatal-four-way match for the Xtreme Title, then getting pinned in the two first rounds of the X-Division and World Championship tournaments and finally getting pinned by AJ at Road To The Gold flash across the screen, each one punctuated with the ringing of a bell. It cuts back to Hammond in his car again making a face.
"...and I fear that this Sunday may turn out a similar way. It's a triple threat against two men who are just as desperate as me to keep ahold of or get the X-Division belt; AJ Pheonix and Fate."
Jack sighs.
"To say I'm feeling slightly nervous is quite a large understatement. The last time I was this close to crapping myself, I was getting ready to ask Mindy out for the first time and having to meet her very large and imposing father."
He pauses.
"Well, at the very least he didn't shave half of his hair off or use poetry to threaten me...he was more used to hefting the big stick that he kept by the front door."
Jack shudders remembering those 'happier' days before clearing his throat again.
"Now this may sound like 'classic Hamster' by berating myself before doing a little 'pick me up', the music rises, I drive off into the sunset and all is well."
Jack pauses.
"And well, it is."
Jack smiles unashamedly at the camera before settling back into his seat.
"So, Fate. In our previous encounters he's come off as the better man. Despite dressing like Mr. Phantom of the Opera and managing to be twice as disturbed he's quite the wrestler. His accomplishments in the ring are nothing to be sniffed at, and having him in this match is not something I'd want if I was going to have a crack at a belt and expecting to win."
He rolls his shoulders.
"But, despite his skills as a wrestler and indeed a dancer, he's not the man he used to be. Here's a man who treats each and every day as if it were Halloween, and seems to be led around by a murderous alter ego. I'd love to see how he goes out for his weekly shop, stalking down the aisles in with that mask and muttering some dark threats whilst picking up a few vegetables."
Jack smirks.
"Now whilst knocking his personal behavior and having a chuckle over it is fun, it does nothing to affect the match. Unless something I've said somehow hits home and puts Fate off, nothing will change."
Jack pauses.
"Unless he were to develop a brand new personality, that was all cuddly and nice to try to balance out the side of him that would happily see me leave this Sunday in a plastic bag. Who knows, maybe he could try that Russian Roulette thing and get 'lucky' this time."
Jack shrugs
"So with Fate in that corner, it's time to look at our X-Division Champ; AJ Pheonix."
He sighs.
"Whilst he seems to be getting his head screwed back on somewhat, he's still brazenly confident as ever. He has bested me where it's mattered, I'll not deny that, and it has annoyed me to no end whenever he takes the time to mention it...which is about once every few seconds it seems when he's not nattering on about his personal problems and whatnot."
Jack cocks an eyebrow.
"And it's a little tiring. If he does beat me on Sunday, there's no doubt that he'll crow and laugh about it for the next few weeks, but if he loses, I'm going to have to hear him keep on waffling on about how he's still 'the better man' and why and how he'll succeed in proving it again and so on. So it'll be bad enough to lose to him, but imagine the amount of earache I'll get if I win. Almost makes me think twice about trying my hardest...almost."
He smirks.
"Y'see, I'm willing to put up with anything either of those two dish out this Sunday and beyond to get that title. Having that gold around your waist puts you on an entirely different level, it changes things forever. And make no mistake, if and when I get that title, I won't care about anything, not Fate writing another poem to herald my immanent disembowelment, nor AJ whining about something that deserves to be on a livejournal rather than a promo. Nor would I even care about what anyone else would have to say; I can prove by holding that belt aloft that I am good enough to carry something that marks a man in this kind of career. It would help do away with all those who would see me back grappling with Mr. Mustache and being the 'benchmark' for all the new guys who seem to be flooding into nCw."
Jack pauses.
"In this current clime of economic strife, political conflict and all the other things that keep people like us awake in bed at night, I can see a good amount of change is needed. Now stop me if you think I'm ripping off a now all-too-familiar slogan that's been banded around the country in the past few months, but I think it's something we could all do with."
Jack nods to himself, looking ahead.
"We need to change what's going on in nCw. We need a change in who we want to see as our role-models. It's time for me to change my ways and stop just messing about, always coming a little too close to getting where I want to be and shrugging my shoulders when I get dragged back down. I'm not saying I'm going to start wearing open shirts and grow out my hair and pose outside to attract people as to how 'Awesome' I am, but I need to win this match. I need to get somewhere I've been fighting for every second I've been in this business. And come hell, high water, death threats, AJ Pheonix, Fate, bad poetry, montage sequences or mustaches, I'm going for it. I'm putting everything I have, everything I am on the line in order to come out on top."
He grins confidently.
"So this Sunday at Mind Games, you see a Hamster who will not roll over and lie down. You will not see another 'could have been'. You will not see a man walking back home, disappointed in himself. You will see a new champion."
Jack lets that statement hang in the air for a little while before sighing and shrugging his shoulders.
"And to all of you who may watch this after the match has happened; Bloody Hell I sure got that one wrong didn't I?"
Jack chuckles as the scene fades out.
"So, I beat the mustache. Gratifying and also managed to stop my small spiral towards the inevitable depression that would overcome anyone who'd been pinned by a man who gets thrown out of hotels just by talking at a registrar."
He clears his throat, waving a hand to dismiss the thinly veiled insult.
"But needless to say, I've got bigger fish to fry. One's wearing a gold belt and is a man I've vowed to defeat countless times, and the other is wearing half a mask and is a man I've vowed to report to the proper authorities if he tortures us any further with his witty poetry."
Jack shrugs.
"I find myself looking at another chance to grab ahold of a title. You will recall that my previous efforts haven't exactly gone to plan."
He pauses and few fast-paced images of him getting pinned during a fatal-four-way match for the Xtreme Title, then getting pinned in the two first rounds of the X-Division and World Championship tournaments and finally getting pinned by AJ at Road To The Gold flash across the screen, each one punctuated with the ringing of a bell. It cuts back to Hammond in his car again making a face.
"...and I fear that this Sunday may turn out a similar way. It's a triple threat against two men who are just as desperate as me to keep ahold of or get the X-Division belt; AJ Pheonix and Fate."
Jack sighs.
"To say I'm feeling slightly nervous is quite a large understatement. The last time I was this close to crapping myself, I was getting ready to ask Mindy out for the first time and having to meet her very large and imposing father."
He pauses.
"Well, at the very least he didn't shave half of his hair off or use poetry to threaten me...he was more used to hefting the big stick that he kept by the front door."
Jack shudders remembering those 'happier' days before clearing his throat again.
"Now this may sound like 'classic Hamster' by berating myself before doing a little 'pick me up', the music rises, I drive off into the sunset and all is well."
Jack pauses.
"And well, it is."
Jack smiles unashamedly at the camera before settling back into his seat.
"So, Fate. In our previous encounters he's come off as the better man. Despite dressing like Mr. Phantom of the Opera and managing to be twice as disturbed he's quite the wrestler. His accomplishments in the ring are nothing to be sniffed at, and having him in this match is not something I'd want if I was going to have a crack at a belt and expecting to win."
He rolls his shoulders.
"But, despite his skills as a wrestler and indeed a dancer, he's not the man he used to be. Here's a man who treats each and every day as if it were Halloween, and seems to be led around by a murderous alter ego. I'd love to see how he goes out for his weekly shop, stalking down the aisles in with that mask and muttering some dark threats whilst picking up a few vegetables."
Jack smirks.
"Now whilst knocking his personal behavior and having a chuckle over it is fun, it does nothing to affect the match. Unless something I've said somehow hits home and puts Fate off, nothing will change."
Jack pauses.
"Unless he were to develop a brand new personality, that was all cuddly and nice to try to balance out the side of him that would happily see me leave this Sunday in a plastic bag. Who knows, maybe he could try that Russian Roulette thing and get 'lucky' this time."
Jack shrugs
"So with Fate in that corner, it's time to look at our X-Division Champ; AJ Pheonix."
He sighs.
"Whilst he seems to be getting his head screwed back on somewhat, he's still brazenly confident as ever. He has bested me where it's mattered, I'll not deny that, and it has annoyed me to no end whenever he takes the time to mention it...which is about once every few seconds it seems when he's not nattering on about his personal problems and whatnot."
Jack cocks an eyebrow.
"And it's a little tiring. If he does beat me on Sunday, there's no doubt that he'll crow and laugh about it for the next few weeks, but if he loses, I'm going to have to hear him keep on waffling on about how he's still 'the better man' and why and how he'll succeed in proving it again and so on. So it'll be bad enough to lose to him, but imagine the amount of earache I'll get if I win. Almost makes me think twice about trying my hardest...almost."
He smirks.
"Y'see, I'm willing to put up with anything either of those two dish out this Sunday and beyond to get that title. Having that gold around your waist puts you on an entirely different level, it changes things forever. And make no mistake, if and when I get that title, I won't care about anything, not Fate writing another poem to herald my immanent disembowelment, nor AJ whining about something that deserves to be on a livejournal rather than a promo. Nor would I even care about what anyone else would have to say; I can prove by holding that belt aloft that I am good enough to carry something that marks a man in this kind of career. It would help do away with all those who would see me back grappling with Mr. Mustache and being the 'benchmark' for all the new guys who seem to be flooding into nCw."
Jack pauses.
"In this current clime of economic strife, political conflict and all the other things that keep people like us awake in bed at night, I can see a good amount of change is needed. Now stop me if you think I'm ripping off a now all-too-familiar slogan that's been banded around the country in the past few months, but I think it's something we could all do with."
Jack nods to himself, looking ahead.
"We need to change what's going on in nCw. We need a change in who we want to see as our role-models. It's time for me to change my ways and stop just messing about, always coming a little too close to getting where I want to be and shrugging my shoulders when I get dragged back down. I'm not saying I'm going to start wearing open shirts and grow out my hair and pose outside to attract people as to how 'Awesome' I am, but I need to win this match. I need to get somewhere I've been fighting for every second I've been in this business. And come hell, high water, death threats, AJ Pheonix, Fate, bad poetry, montage sequences or mustaches, I'm going for it. I'm putting everything I have, everything I am on the line in order to come out on top."
He grins confidently.
"So this Sunday at Mind Games, you see a Hamster who will not roll over and lie down. You will not see another 'could have been'. You will not see a man walking back home, disappointed in himself. You will see a new champion."
Jack lets that statement hang in the air for a little while before sighing and shrugging his shoulders.
"And to all of you who may watch this after the match has happened; Bloody Hell I sure got that one wrong didn't I?"
Jack chuckles as the scene fades out.