We are now backstage, entering the Dominion locker room, where Danny Watts, Nate Ortiz and Rust Cohle are discussing the Fatal 4 Way main event that will see Rust face 3 other top notch competitors, his long rival H20, Wrex and the Last Blacksmith.
Rust: I am telling you, you will settle the score with Harvey when the time comes, I just want you by my side for tonight. But PLEASE don’t do anything, before the match, during it or even after.
Danny: So you are telling us to not get revenge on Harvey after he did to us in his personal vendetta ? Am I hearing it right ?
Rust: Please Danny. I NEED this. I have to prove a point, and I need people to see that Dominion trusts each other enough not to make foolish decisions. Alright Champ ?
Danny Watts looks at Nate Ortiz who doesn’t say a word. He grins.
Danny: But people will think this is weakness, that Harvey has the upper hand. I don’t like that.
Rust: It’s just tonight, you’ll be watching from close but you’ll restrain yourselves. Nate knows why I say this to you. He saw enough during his legendary career to understand my motives and the fact I need this to be clean.
Rust: Soon, Dominion will regain its status of most terrifying stable in all OCW. And it begins tonight.
Rust: Are you with me, guys ?
Danny once again looks at Nate who doesn't move as Rust puts his fist forward. Danny is not happy with the decision but finally agrees as the 3 stablemates fist bump.
The whirring of machinery and conveyor belts is heard as the camera fades in to reveal an unfamiliar location. It is the inside of what looks like some kind of factory, it's clear that the walls were once painted white, however, now they're more a chipped off-white. The floor is mostly concrete with some metal stairs and platforms about, and walking through this space is Colin Locke, who the camera catches up to.
Colin: Ladies, gentlemen, and everything in between, we've got a good one for you today, because it's time for you to see how things work around here. Welcome to the Locke & Key sorting room!
The camera pans around, showing items moving down conveyor belts and dropping onto other conveyor belts as workers write things down on clipboards.
Colin: I'm not gonna lie, I don't visit here enough, as if I did, it'd ruin a lot of surprises. Here's where some of the stuff that goes into storage lots comes from, because while there are loads of people who just abandon their lot, give up their items and all that, sometimes we've got to store our own stuff, or move things around, depending on what's happening.
Colin spots something off screen and raises his eyebrows before looking to the camera and beckoning it to follow him.
Colin: Actually, come here a sec, here's something that's ready to go into a lot right now.
The camera follows Colin as he jogs over to a sign that reads 'Potential Locke & Key Lot'. Around this sign, several workers are looking intently at something that is just out of view, and Colin rubs his hands together in excitement.
Colin: Right guys, what've you got for me?
Locke & Key Crew 1: Hey, Colin, after Quartz said he was gonna stop telling you who your opponents were last week, we decided that, just as a backup, we'd start collecting items related to various wrestlers-
Colin:-do you have The Kernel's popcorn bucket though
Locke & Key Crew 1: No.
Colin: Aww.
Locke & Key Crew 1: We probably won't use them, we just thought if something gets sprung on you, we can be prepared and get an episode out.
Colin: Fun idea, so what're you guys looking at?
The small crowd around the sign disperses to reveal a little pedestal with a DVD sitting on it. Colin is clearly a bit confused. He leans in to look closer.
Colin: Why do we have Solomon Kane on DVD?
There's a brief pause.
Locke & Key Crew 2: Yeah, we weren't feeling very creative with that one, and we thought after Solomon attacked you last week, you're probably gonna fight him again at some point.
Colin: I mean, you say you weren't creative, but you might be the only person who remembers that that film exists. Let's be real, no one saw Solomon Kane, which is kind of fitting, because as we learned last week, Solomon Caine can't see me, it's why he's gotta attack people from behind, like a bellend. He's coming off a bunch of losses, and I'm on the up, obviously he'd get a bit desperate about things.
The rest of the crew nod in agreement as Colin shoehorns his wrestling talk into things.
Locke & Key Crew 2: Yeah, we were thinking of sending this to one of the new lots, now that Archer's off taking dogs we're free to cover a bit more ground.
Colin: Wait, a whole lot dedicated to a DVD copy of Solomon Kane?
Locke & Key Crew 1: Yeah, the film's pretty solid and we've got storage lots to spare.
Colin: I'm not sure how I feel about this. Yeah, why not.
The crew carry the pedestal out of frame and Colin turns back to address the camera.
Colin: Looks like things are getting back to normal over here, we had that Locke & Key episode with Quartz, the lots are coming back, and that's gonna give me a lot more time to focus on what I've got coming up next in OCW. You all saw what happened against Archer while I was in the middle of a storage war, it'll be a lot of fun to see what I can do without all that crap going along, and I hope you're all as excited as I am.
Colin begins to walk, and the camera follows him from the front as he talks while surveying the sorting room.
Colin: See, you've got people still underrating me, or maybe overrating themselves, and that is a nasty mix. I'm looking forward to having a proper go with some of these people, we'll sort out Solomon at some point, a bunch of other people will probably show up, and we can always head back to Quartz to see who wants a go next. He's keeping that under Locke & Key at the moment, as we'd say, so enjoy the show over there everyone, I'll be seeing you all soon.
The camera pans away as Colin continues making his way across the Locke & Key sorting room as the scene fades, bringing the segment to a close.
JUDGE LEROY BROWN III vs.
JOHN CARTER
Stacy Clark: Hello everyone & welcome to The Clark Effect. I’m joined today with everyone's favorite gamer AC Cobra!
Camera pans over to Cobra who takes a sip of a coffee mug and gives the camera a thumbs up.
Stacy Clark: Cobra, last week you came in to check on TY after his beatdown from Quartz. Why?
Cobra: Explained myself already last week, there’s a lot of things going on from the “higher up” talent and the rest of the roster. Quartz is the champion and instead of being happy about that, he lashes out like some kid at the store who mommy said he can’t get his favorite toy. Quartz toy chest is currently full much like the child at the store.
Stacy Clark: Cobra, Quartz has been on a killing spree. Are you not afraid about getting in his way at all?
Cobra: *chuckles* I have no reason to be and this isn’t about me vs him. This is about right vs wrong and at that moment and many times before, he’s done disgusting things and went unchecked just because he’s the face of the company.
Stacy Clark: Do you think Quartz is representing this company in the best way possible as the champ?
Cobra: No, he isn’t at all. Honestly, I don’t care that he’s the champ but he’s a part of the problem. We’re in a wrestling empowerment era. All these guys are teaming up, crying for title shots, getting unlimited concessions at The Barclays. You know how much those hot dogs cost?
Cobra; The everyday man and woman in the back is being forgotten while all the other guys huddle up and form tree house teams and collect all the titles then brag about career stats. We need - - -
Stacy cuts Cobra off mid sentence.
Stacy Clark: Sorry to cut you off but it looks like I’ve been told there’s a situation going on in your locker room.
Camera pans out and shifts focus to a tv. The light flicks on the screen as Clark and Cobra watch
small sound indicating the powerup of an Xbox gaming console is accompanied soon after by the circling, swirling introduction of the Xbox logo on a TV screen backstage.
As the camera slowly zooms out, we see it is the gaming hub of one AC Cobra, complete with empty Mountain Dew bottles and bags of doritos placed neatly on a nearby table.
Walking into frame is not AC Cobra, however… It is The World Heavyweight Champion… Ijitu Quartz.
Quartz: They say that video games rot your brain.
Quartz: Every bullet from a digital gun, every swipe of a virtual blade… Violence and vulgarity shot directly into the brains of millions of people around the world.
Quartz takes a few steps in thought as the Xbox screen fades into the home menu.
Quartz: Some people even think that video games cause the player to want to be violent or vulgar themselves.
Quartz: That part… Well, I don’t think I quite believe that. Do you want to know why?
Quartz: For a moment, let’s ignore all of the studies or decades of gaming history.
Quartz: Let’s just focus on the actions and history of one man… You, AC Cobra.
Quartz: A man who has dedicated not only his life, but his professional wrestling career to these video games. This virtual violence and vulgarity. This unbelievable world of imagination and freedom.
Quartz: That man still turns off the console everyday being just as passive and mentally fragile as he was before he turned it on. Video games CAN’T cause violence… If they did, maybe AC Cobra would prove that he has an actual backbone. Maybe AC Cobra would do what needs to be done in this business to reach the top of the mountain that I currently occupy.
Quartz: You see, Cobra? Last week when you decided to stare me down like some kind of tough guy… I saw something in your eyes that you haven’t shown since the day I got here… and probably a long time before that, too.
Quartz: I think that’s because you empathize with TY Sparks. You see in TY Sparks what you hate about yourself. Wasted potential. A career that could have reached the mountaintop… but never even had what it took mentally to put his gear on.
Quartz: You don’t hate me because I’m a “bully”. You hate yourself because I’m exposing you and everyone who is like you for what they are.
Quartz: I haven’t forgotten what you’ve accomplished in this company. Hell, two years ago, I watched you defeat Antonio Everrett for the Light Heavyweight Championship. I saw passion in you that was incomparable to anyone else here.
Quartz smirks and shakes his head.
Quartz: Do you know what I saw after that? I saw someone happy with their one big moment. I saw a man who has the ability to defeat one of OCW’s best sit back and enjoy the “congratulations” tweets. I saw a man who was then promptly defeated for that championship by Ryu Matsumoto.
Quartz turns and looks off screen as Spider walks in behind him holding a baseball bat.
Quartz: You’re okay with being mediocre. You’ve proven that time and time again… but last week, you not only stuck your nose in my business, but then I come to find that you’re speaking out of turn to ME? You call me out and tell me you’re “not hard to find”...
Quartz: Now I’m being stopped in the halls by Jim Black asking me about AC Cobra… If you honestly believe that was the right decision? Well, I guess that can only mean one thing...
Spider stops and hands the baseball bat to Quartz. Quartz takes it, slowly looks away from the camera and swings it with incredible force through the television, destroying the screen. He pulls the bat out as sparks fly and takes one more swing at the Xbox console, exploding it in the locker.
He drops the bat and turns back to the camera.
Quartz: Video games really do rot your brain.
Spider and Quartz walk off as the camera zooms into the destruction before it cuts back to Cobra, standing with Stacy Clark.
Cobra’s eyes are wide with anger and before Stacy can utter another word, he storms off of the set towards his locker room.
