Live from the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA [Fade in from black. The sounds of "Clubbed to Death" by Rob Dougan cue up as a video montage of Pittsburgh, PA is played. Shots roll through of the three rivers, the steel mills that are still operating, and blue collar workers of all sort putting in their fair share. A man with a deep voice speaks over the vignette.]
V/O: Without effort, there is no reward. Without pain, there is no gain. Tonight, several men make their way towards the highest honor wrestling has to offer… the World Heavyweight Championship. TONIGHT… Pittsburgh, PA gets a dose of EMPIRE… PRO… WRESTLING.
[Just as the voice over finishes, the screen goes to black and "Clubbed to Death" dies out. "Imperial March (Rage Against The Machine Remix) cues up. Several clips are played through, visual effects of gray smoke surrounding them.
Cut to: Christian Sands hitting the Sand Blaster on an unknown opponent.
Cut to: Karl Brown nailing someone with The Dragon's Bite ddt.
Cut to: Jonathan Marx slapping an intense STF on an unknown individual.
Cut to: Adam Benjamin knocking the absolute bejesus out of an opponent with a shining wizard.
Cut to: The Crimson Calling destroying their opponent with a Crimson Crasher.
Cut to: Beast delivering a high impact Tiger Driver '91 to an unnamed man.
Cut to: Dan Ryan, an evil grin on his face, stomping his massive frame towards the camera.
[Fade in from the vignette to a shot of the newly designed David L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh. Thousands upon thousands stand on their feet as fireworks shoot off from the Empire set. The theme song continues to blare over the system as the cameras pan across the audience. Signs are spotted everywhere, some of them read: “Dan Ryan Will Eat You”, “Rob Sampson: Next World Champ”, “Pittsburgh loves TROY DOUGLAS”, and others…]
DT: Welcome… to Empire Pro Aggression!!!
[The cameras cut to Dave Thomas and Mike Neely, who are seated at their familiar commentators’ table, smiling and joking with some of the nearest fans.]
MN: (adjusting headset) Whoah nelly is it going to be a good one tonight!
DT: Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got tons of great matches scheduled here, the majority of which include first round bouts in the World Title tournament!!! That’s right folks, it all starts here in Pittsburgh!! Now our…
MN: Wait, Dave, I’ve got somethin’ goin’ on in the back…
[Cut backstage inside a dressing room. The camera pans over to show 'The Ego Buster' Dan Ryan shuffling through some belongings. There's a knock on the door, but Ryan doesn't react....
Another knock....
Another....
Finally the door simply opens, revealing the knocker to be Empire Pro CEO Paul Freeman.]
Freeman: "Is there any reason why you didn't answer the door?"
Ryan: [Not looking up] "Nope."
Freeman: "Ok. Let's try another one. What's this I hear about you saying you might not compete tonight? And defacing an Empire Pro banner during a promo to boot?"
Ryan: [Walking to within inches of Freeman] "First of all....don't barge into my dressing room unannounced. Secondly, I'll do.....whatever I feel like doing....when I feel like doing it. And as far as tonight's match goes, as soon as you make some changes in the way you plan on conducting this....tournament....I'll be happy to raise the star power in this place by ten fold by competing in it."
Freeman: [Taking a step back with a sigh] "Look, when our owner hired me for this position he made it clear that you....along with the others on our roster.....would be willing to be a part of this thing from the ground up. He said you expressed interest in making a clean start with a new company. I wasn't expecting any demands from you....not to this extent. Truthfully Dan...I'm as accomadating as I can be most times....but I'm afraid I'm gonna have to order you to wrestle this match tonight. We can deal with your issues at another time."
Ryan: [Smiling] "I don't think you understand...."
Freeman: [Getting angry, moving closer to Ryan] "No, I don't think YOU understand. You'll be in that match tonight....like it or not."
Ryan: [chuckling] "Or what?? You'll fire me? Gimme a break...."
Freeman: "I don't care who you think you are, Ryan.....get in the ring.....or you're outta here."
[Ryan eyes Freeman warily for a moment or two, then abruptly picks up his bags...]
Ryan: "Then I guess I'm outta here."
[Freeman's face briefly registers shock, as Dan Ryan slings his bag over his shoulder and walks out the door.]
[Cut back to Dave and Mike, who are looking at each other in complete shock. The fans are booing heavily.]
DT: Did that…
MN: DAN RYAN JUST QUIT?!?!
DT: What’s going on here? Dan Ryan’s scheduled for a match tonight against Adam Benjamin and Rocko Daymon!
MN: Ryan’s been actin’ really weird lately… I just don’t get it. Now he says he’s quitting? What the hell?
DT: Your guess is as good as mine, Mike. Wow, that’s incredibly shocking news… I don’t even know what to say.
MN: Just get to the first matchup, Thomas, we can’t just stop the show.
(Editor's Note - Covert Ops vs. The Assassins lost due to old website formatting issues)
V/O: Without effort, there is no reward. Without pain, there is no gain. Tonight, several men make their way towards the highest honor wrestling has to offer… the World Heavyweight Championship. TONIGHT… Pittsburgh, PA gets a dose of EMPIRE… PRO… WRESTLING.
[Just as the voice over finishes, the screen goes to black and "Clubbed to Death" dies out. "Imperial March (Rage Against The Machine Remix) cues up. Several clips are played through, visual effects of gray smoke surrounding them.
Cut to: Christian Sands hitting the Sand Blaster on an unknown opponent.
Cut to: Karl Brown nailing someone with The Dragon's Bite ddt.
Cut to: Jonathan Marx slapping an intense STF on an unknown individual.
Cut to: Adam Benjamin knocking the absolute bejesus out of an opponent with a shining wizard.
Cut to: The Crimson Calling destroying their opponent with a Crimson Crasher.
Cut to: Beast delivering a high impact Tiger Driver '91 to an unnamed man.
Cut to: Dan Ryan, an evil grin on his face, stomping his massive frame towards the camera.
[Fade in from the vignette to a shot of the newly designed David L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh. Thousands upon thousands stand on their feet as fireworks shoot off from the Empire set. The theme song continues to blare over the system as the cameras pan across the audience. Signs are spotted everywhere, some of them read: “Dan Ryan Will Eat You”, “Rob Sampson: Next World Champ”, “Pittsburgh loves TROY DOUGLAS”, and others…]
DT: Welcome… to Empire Pro Aggression!!!
[The cameras cut to Dave Thomas and Mike Neely, who are seated at their familiar commentators’ table, smiling and joking with some of the nearest fans.]
MN: (adjusting headset) Whoah nelly is it going to be a good one tonight!
DT: Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got tons of great matches scheduled here, the majority of which include first round bouts in the World Title tournament!!! That’s right folks, it all starts here in Pittsburgh!! Now our…
MN: Wait, Dave, I’ve got somethin’ goin’ on in the back…
DAN MEETS PAUL
[Cut backstage inside a dressing room. The camera pans over to show 'The Ego Buster' Dan Ryan shuffling through some belongings. There's a knock on the door, but Ryan doesn't react....
Another knock....
Another....
Finally the door simply opens, revealing the knocker to be Empire Pro CEO Paul Freeman.]
Freeman: "Is there any reason why you didn't answer the door?"
Ryan: [Not looking up] "Nope."
Freeman: "Ok. Let's try another one. What's this I hear about you saying you might not compete tonight? And defacing an Empire Pro banner during a promo to boot?"
Ryan: [Walking to within inches of Freeman] "First of all....don't barge into my dressing room unannounced. Secondly, I'll do.....whatever I feel like doing....when I feel like doing it. And as far as tonight's match goes, as soon as you make some changes in the way you plan on conducting this....tournament....I'll be happy to raise the star power in this place by ten fold by competing in it."
Freeman: [Taking a step back with a sigh] "Look, when our owner hired me for this position he made it clear that you....along with the others on our roster.....would be willing to be a part of this thing from the ground up. He said you expressed interest in making a clean start with a new company. I wasn't expecting any demands from you....not to this extent. Truthfully Dan...I'm as accomadating as I can be most times....but I'm afraid I'm gonna have to order you to wrestle this match tonight. We can deal with your issues at another time."
Ryan: [Smiling] "I don't think you understand...."
Freeman: [Getting angry, moving closer to Ryan] "No, I don't think YOU understand. You'll be in that match tonight....like it or not."
Ryan: [chuckling] "Or what?? You'll fire me? Gimme a break...."
Freeman: "I don't care who you think you are, Ryan.....get in the ring.....or you're outta here."
[Ryan eyes Freeman warily for a moment or two, then abruptly picks up his bags...]
Ryan: "Then I guess I'm outta here."
[Freeman's face briefly registers shock, as Dan Ryan slings his bag over his shoulder and walks out the door.]
[Cut back to Dave and Mike, who are looking at each other in complete shock. The fans are booing heavily.]
DT: Did that…
MN: DAN RYAN JUST QUIT?!?!
DT: What’s going on here? Dan Ryan’s scheduled for a match tonight against Adam Benjamin and Rocko Daymon!
MN: Ryan’s been actin’ really weird lately… I just don’t get it. Now he says he’s quitting? What the hell?
DT: Your guess is as good as mine, Mike. Wow, that’s incredibly shocking news… I don’t even know what to say.
MN: Just get to the first matchup, Thomas, we can’t just stop the show.
(Editor's Note - Covert Ops vs. The Assassins lost due to old website formatting issues)
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