CHALLENGER vs. CHAMPION
K'DANGELO vs. CORT MARSHALL*
Ryu is not his normal jovial self he seems more serious, more sinister
RYU: Mon petite Chouette… Rustin Cohle
RYU: You came out and you made a statement... You’re attempting to make a claim on THE World Championship.
RYU: And even though you abandoned me for your new mentor, I have a gift for you.
RYU: One last lesson, a story.
RYU: It's the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. You may have heard of it.
RYU: See, a lot of the animals in the forest think the Hare is a real dick because he always tells everyone he’s faster than them, and unfortunately for them, it’s true.
RYU: Everytime the Hare races, he always wins, and the whole forest has to put up with him.
RYU: Day in and day out the Hare always wants to race, just so he can rub it in.
RYU: So one day, the Tortoise decides he’ll race the Hare.
Ryu apes a tortoise by talking extremely slowly
RYU: “Why... not… I’ll… give… it… a... try.”
RYU: The Hare laughs in his face, he says “This’ll be fun, come on let's go.”
RYU: BANG! The Hare takes off and leaves the Tortoise in his dust, he’s way out in front, because the Hare always wins.
RYU: But the Hare wants to put on a show, so he decides to take a nap in the middle of the race.
Ryu pauses for a moment
RYU: But the Hare sleeps for too long. He wakes up and BANG full tilt he rushes to the finish line, but its too late.
RYU: The Tortoise crosses the finish line first and the crowd is going wild.
RYU: Later that night the Tortoise is sitting at home with his family, telling them about the race over lunch.
RYU: His little Tortoise kids ask “How… did… you… do it…”
RYU: The Tortoise responds “Well… I… just… kept… moving… forward…never...gave… up”
We see Ryu’s lips curve up, he seems to be savoring the crescendo of the story
RYU: Door smashes open
RY: It's the Hare.
RYU: And he has a hammer.
RYU: He smashes up the wife and kids first so the Tortoise has to watch them die.
RYU: Then it's his turn
RYU: The Hare sits down and starts eating their lunch.
RYU: Every
RYU: Last
RYU: Bite
Ryu smacks his lips before continuing
RYU: Because the Hare ALWAYS wins.
The OCW World Champion stands from his locker and pulls his hood down. He steps over to Spider and the two stare into the camera, not a smile to be found, before marching off as we fade to black.
The camera pans around the hallways backstage area of The United Center. Various pictures of Michael Jordan, OCW Clash Matchups and The Chicago Bulls can be seen along the walls.
Right next to the latest “I took it personally.” poster by The GOAT Michael Jordan, is another legendary poster of “Loser Leaves Town” of Paul Pugh and Nate Ortiz.
The camera pans back slowly and it reveals The Greater Than GOAT standing before and glaring at his very own poster.
Stepping into frame is The Current Greatest OCW World Heavyweight Champion EVER, H2O.
Nate’s chest inflates and deflates in a slow manner. Harvey knows Nate recognizes his presence even though he still stares at his poster. H2O stares at the poster alongside him.
H2O: Good evening, Franchize. You and I have been distracted for the past several weeks. You and your sermons. Me on my revenge tour.
H2O: Make no mistake I didn’t and will not ever lose sight of you! I will never forget what you did to me at End Games. You wouldn’t let me be great.
H2O: I take that personally.
Nate turns his gaze away from the post and locks eyes with H2O in a sign of acknowledgment. H2O nods and walks off as Nate returns his gaze to the poster. Though no words are spoken the two know there is no love lost between the two. But tonight in this moment Nate has one thing on his mind, ending Paul Pugh and preserving his own career tonight.
GRUDGE MATCH
COLIN LOCKE vs. THOMAS ARCHER
During The Clash PPV. Combat Center.
All the competitors from the Combat Center are seated in front of a very large TV in the big hall, watching the action live from the Clash PPV. Everybody is excited and invested, dreaming about one day being the next one to step up in this historic event’s ring.
At their far right are Wrex and Aisu seating side to side, with a very small table setup next to them. Only a bottle of Hakushu remains on it with a whisky glass on the side, while the other Yamazaki bottle is in Wrex’s hand.
Aisu serves himself some 12yo beverage, while Wrex takes sips directly from his bottle. Aisu smiles.
Aisu: You know that is some expensive whiskey, right ?
Wrex: And yet it just tastes.. like whiskey.
He doesn’t even look at the Japanese superstar, as his red eyes are locked in on the action on the big screen.
Aisu: You miss not being out here ?.. I do too. I think you should be on every PPV show there is.
Wrex: My knees disagree. But yeah, I’m missing it.
Aisu: There is something wrong though. Can you spot it ?
Wrex: The tag titles?
Aisu: Spot on. Remember this afternoon? Just before you broke this poor guy’s jaw..
Wrex: He was warned what prolonged eye contact would get him.
Aisu:.. You did hit him with the Welcome to Scumchester. I told you, they are still young and learning. Don’t end their careers yet, please.
Wrex: Better to learn about dealing with injuries when Jayson isn’t asking them to come in the next week… what?
Aisu: Well, if you remember, I told you there are rumors flying.. And it seems like that is kind of true now. No Unified Tag Team championships. Not even a Tag Team bout. I truly miss it..
Aisu: How do you feel about it ?
Wrex: How do I feel? My boys were representing Turmoil on Lution, fighting for the right to be called the real tag team champions… now it’s something for management to pull out when the ratings are slipping.
Aisu looks concerned.
Aisu: Look at these people. They all want their own glory, they wanna be featured by themselves, on top of the mountain. Proudly planting their flag.
Aisu: The art of cohesion in wrestling doesn’t matter to them. They don’t want to be associated with another guy in the history books. Painting their own perfect picture of themselves..
Wrex: Then once their back’s against the wall and their dreams are burning in front of them. They have no one to turn to. Where do they go from there?
Aisu looks at Wrex, who leans forward on his chair, with a focused look.
Aisu: I think you know. You know as well as I know.
Wrex: They crumble to nothing, just a footnote in history… shame about the division though. Really has fallen to shit. Someone will fix it I’m sure, eventually.
Aisu: I think a new partnership needs to fix this.. Don't you ?
Wrex: Why did.. you know what, fuck it. I’m tired of having to fix shit myself.
Both competitors lock eyes with each other while the other young studs and trainers are cheering on the action of the PPV.