CHALLENGE MATCH: IrishRed vs. The Sergeant

[TH]

The MidWest Mafia's ringleader vs. the hottest rookie on the circuit right now... this one could get out of control quick

Deadline's Monday, Feb. 20th, 11:59:59 PM, give or take a second.

 

[Linguistic]

Tired

"Tired"
The Sergeant

(The scene opens in a wrestling ring somewhere in Wisconsin... The Sergeant has the mic and is preparing to cut a promo... He's in his traditional ring attire... The audience is about 1,500 strong and giving him a very positive reaction...)

(It's been a long few weeks for the combat tested, mother approved rookie from Missouri... Matches have been popping up for him at an almost ungodly rate and he hasn't been on the winning end of many of them... To say that he's been a little frustrated would be an understatement... His body is sore, but from the looks of him you wouldn't be able to tell that he's in pain at all... He lets the fans have there time before motioning for them to quiet down...)

The Sergeant: You know, some people would tell me that I'm trying too hard and taking big steps too quickly. I mean, it's like I hit the wrestling scene and haven't stopped to contemplate what I've got myself into. I win a match and I jump into and even bigger match to prove myself. I lose a match and the next match is even bigger than if I had won it.

What's been bothering me is that the losing has been happening a little more frequently than the winning.

(The crowd shows their support...)

You see, the competitive spirit is alive and well in The Sergeant. It's something deep down inside of me that I can't cover up. I want to be known as one of the greats in this business. I don't have time to stop and think about what I'm doing.

That is what everyone is thinking, anyway.

The truth is, I break down every match that I've been in since my debut. I'm much more methodical than people give me credit for. The people I've been facing recently haven't taken kindly to my sudden move into the spotlight. Which brings me back to TEAM wrestling.

(The crowd pops at the mention of TEAM... The tournament is wildly popular around the globe, and it was where The Sergeant got his first real mainstream exposure...)

TS: In the first round of the TEAM tournament I was dispatched by James Irish in what was viewed as one of the best matches of the year. That unfortunately has been the pattern with The Sergeant over the past few months. I had such high hopes of making my star shine in the tournament but in the end the light burned out early.

Fast forward to the TEAM tournament semifinals and another Irish has brought me back to wrestle in a TEAM ring. Irishred.

(Huge pop from the crowd... Many were not aware that a challenge had been put out earlier in the day to The Sergeant by Irishred...)

TS: I get a call today saying that he demanded a special CHALLENGE match with me during the semifinals. What the hell is really going on around here?

(A mostly silent crowd is the response...)

Is this the same Irishred that told me once upon a time that he respected me but that I was way out of my league? The same Irishred that views me as a non-threat? I have to say, I'm amazed that HE would challenge ME.

If anything 'red, I should be the one chasing after you. It's commonly known that I view you as one of the best in this sport. I can remember watching you wrestle in some of the toughest matches ever and just when everyone thought you couldn't give anything else you would dig down deep and pull off the win. You are on that next level. The level of competitor that I have yet to beat. Defeating you is just what the doctor prescribed to send me up into that main event status. You defeating me does nothing.

But if I know you like I think I do, you just want to whoop the rookie's ass.

(Sarge actually gets a mixed reaction for this... Wisconsin is Irishred country...)

TS: Well, I'm sure you have some carefully laid plans for this match. You wouldn't have challenged me without something in mind. Stop and think about what your doing, though. I'm not simply here for just another match that takes me on the way to greatness. I'm coming into this match to launch myself to that level in ONE MATCH. When people view me as one of the greats in wrestling, they will always think back to that one night in 2006 when I launched myself to that status at YOUR EXPENSE!

(Sarge is getting booed all over the stadium now... He seems even more intense than he ever has been... He holds the mic out to pic up on all of the boos...)

TS: I love all of my fans and I'll continue to do everything to entertain you, but in very short time you'll start to understand that I mean business in this ring. My domain will be between these ropes.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some training to do.

(The Sergeant drops the mic and slides out of the ring...)

 

[irishred]

Irishred is sitting at a private booth at his bar in Yankton, South Dakota. A mug of coffee sits in front of him. Irishred is reading the USA Today sports page. He folds the paper, takes a sip of coffee and looks up at the camera.


Why would I, the current UCW World Heavyweight champion, the next A1E World Heavyweight Champion, the one true shooter on the circuit challenge you Sarge...a wet behind the ears rookie?

Simply put to test you son.

I want to see what you are made of. I've watched you and I like what I have seen. You have heart, you have honor, you have dignity...you even have a little talent. But do you have what it takes to be the man in this business someday?

I have faced all the greats Sarge...line 'em up and I've taken all they have to give. Housefly, Dan Ryan, Bobby R, The Spoiler, Doc Awesome, Maggot, JA, James Irish, Beast, Richard Farnswirth...I have faced then all. I didn't win all of those matches mind you; but I faced them all with my head held high and took all they had to give. I bounced up and called them on again. It doesn't matter who you are...it doesn't matter what you have accomplished...No one intimidates me.

Do you have that? Can you say that? You've been thrown into the fire a few times since you started. Did you blink Sarge. Are you truly combat tested?

I know you have lived through the horrors of war Sarge. God Bless you. You did the job and you came home. I respect that.

It's a different war in this business though. In this war I am the enemy you never want to face. I'm that nightmare that keeps you awake. I'm the reason for the cold sweats. I'm the image that you see when terror comes over you. I am your measuring stick.

Do you have what it takes Sarge?

Can you walk into the ring and face the one man in the business that has no fear? Can you withstand the punishment that I have learned to dish out in war after war? Do you have the balls to go face to face with me...blood on blood, skin on skin, pain for pain, violence breeding violence?

Will you be able to walk out the other side and say you truly want to live this life?

Let's see just how hot you are. Let's see just how bad you are. Let's see just what you are made of.

Irishred rises and begins to walk across his bar. He stops and refills his coffee.

Prove to me you are half of what the world thinks you are boy, live up to the hype...

Show me.

Irishred walks through a door marked private as the camera fades to black.

 

[Linguistic]

Way Of Thinking

"Way Of Thinking"
The Sergeant

(Just off the phone with one of his old army buddies, The Sergeant is on his way to the living room in his house... The camera crew is already set up and ready to help him cut a promo... Sarge sits on his couch in his traditional wrestling gear with a black t-shirt added... His face is determination personified with a little hint of anger...)

(He stares intently for about five seconds before suddenly flashing a huge smile...)

The Sergeant: 'red, try as I might I can't really be mad at you. That includes when I'm having a bad day.

Why?

God dammit 'cause I love the way you think.

I have to come right out and admit that I would do the same thing in my shoes. You have nothing to gain by facing me. Nothing to gain by stepping into the ring and stompin' all over my behind. Yet, you've heard a lot about me and haven't really seen what I'm made of in a one on one match.

You just gotta know. I'm right there with you.

I've got to know if I can hang in there one on one with a man who prides himself on not only being able to whoop somebody's ass but also on being able to take a beating himself. A guy who has made better men than I lay back to the mat with their eyes scanning the bright lights. Can I finish this match intact, much less as the winner?

I know the answer to that question and I think you know it to. But, you have just gotta know. Just like you said earlier... a test.

Now, I was never much of an intellectual in high school and in the army they don't train us to be academics of any sort. So, if the kind of test you've been talking about is for me to take y squared and multiply it by the hypotenus of the pithag... pyth... oh dammit you know what I'm tryin to say... I wouldn't be able to do it.

But I know you. The test you speak of is a test of combat. Not combat in the military sense of the word, but combat nonetheless. Individual combat. A wrestling war. That right there is a combat that you know all too much about.

I guess the first half of my catchphrase works for you, too... Combat Tested.

Lest you think I'm trying to kiss your ass in this promo, 'red, just remember that while I know you are all too capable of pushing me to limits that I've never been pushed to before... while I love how you think and how you conduct yourself... I still have no doubt in my mind that I'll ace this test. This test is where I turn around my overall grade thus far in wrestling. This test will put me back on track for greatness.

This match is where I show the entire world what happens to one of the toughest, most competive, and grizzled veterans of the square circle when I slap on my one a kind Corrective Training. And before I leave this promo I need to make sure you know what'll happen if I get that hold on you. Irishred, there is no doubt in my mind that you'll tap out.

I'll try to leave your writing hand unharmed as best I can, though... you wouldn't be able to grade me otherwise...

(Scene fades...)