Welcome Back My Friends...
FADE IN...
Backstage, the MCW Arena outside Los Angeles. Bryan Storms normally wouldn't be here this far in advance of a show, but, instead of taking a day off before facing Chandler Maxwell at Center Stage, he decided to meet with new management and sort out some final contract issues. He had some personal time scheduled, but the new boss said that while he was here, he should drop by the TV studio and record promotional material for the show. So, dressed down in mesh shorts and a plain black t-shirt, sunglasses flipped up on top of his head, with nothing prepared, Storms stands in front of the blue MCW backdrop and gets the countdown from the cameraman.
3...
2...
1...
Rolling.
"I hear all the time that pain is good. Pain heals us, makes us stronger. Our victories may be what are celebrated, but in the end, it is our defeats, our suffering, and how we deal with them, by which we are ultimately measured.
"Time was, I'd call that a load of bull. But time is as great a teacher as pain can be. I've learned from my mistakes, and I damn sure won't repeat them. Chris McMillan, you can take that to the bank.
Sure, last week I pinned John Doe, picked up five points in the MCW World Championship standings. That should be good enough, right? But, alas, no. Because I couldn't beat Chris McMillan, I'm stuck in second place, forced to make up ground to get to the main event at Zero Hour. You beat me, Chris, you did it fair and square in the middle of the ring. For that, you get infinite credit.
"But don't think it'll happen again."
Storms looks down, rubs his hand across his eyes, and focuses back on the camera.
"Moving on, I find that this week I get a chance to make up for my shortcomings, against none other than Adam Benjamin, Jr., Chandler Maxwell. Chandler, you were undoubtedly impressive last week, beating poor, sick little Stevie Marlay like that.
"Of course, Steve might've been a little more of a challenge for you if I hadn't been the one to soften him up the show before. This week, Chandler, I think you'll find me a bit more challenging than facing a half-assed mirror image of yourself.
"You've got talent, kid, no doubts about it. But, are you really all that you say you are? When it comes down to it, can you hack it in the big leagues? Or are you just your cousin Adam's puppet, a way for him to live vicariously while he pouts and waits for Karl Brown to show up?
"Personally, I'll take the latter. You've shown me nothing, Chandler, to indicate that your anywhere NEAR my league right now. So far, you've been beaten by John Doe, a man who I've beaten twice, once by pin, once by making him scream for mercy, and you took down a guy who could barely see two feet in front of him after I was through with him.
"That's your measuring stick, Chandler? That's why your 'First Class'? Frankly, Chandler, I'm less than impressed.
"But please, kid, bring everything you've got to Center Stage. Bring your fighting spirit, bring your cousin's help, bringing all of the Queen's Horses and all the Queen's Men to the center of that ring, and see if you can get those ten points.
"My vote, is that no matter how good you are, no matter how much help your cousin brings you from the outside, no matter if I have to fight off both of you or more at once, you'll play Humpty Dumpty and fall off the wall once again. Because when everything's been said and everything's been stripped away, it all comes down to one simple point.
"I want this far more than you ever have, ever could or ever will.
"You see, Chandler, you surround yourself with expensive things, with beautiful women who couldn't carry intelligent conversations with a brown paper bag, and you view the lifestyle that this career gives you as far more important than anything else. You could win, yes, but you'll still get paid no matter what, and you'll be safe in your "First Class" facade.
"Me? I've got nothing else other than what I do on that canvas. I threw the cars, the clothes, the women, all of it out the window when I gave up my vices. All that matters to me is what goes on inside those ropes. That's my home, and I am DAMN good at protecting my home. So bring everything you could ever need into that arena at Center Stage, Chandler, but it still won't help.
"In the end, your only fighting for a lifestyle. I'm fighting for my LIFE, and for that crown jewel at the end of this quest, the MCW World Heavyweight Title. So when you enter that ring, realize that you cease to become Chandler Maxwell, Adam Benjamin's protege, Mr. "First Class". When that bell rings, your nothing but ten more points for me to pick up on my way to Zero Hour, and I don't plan to let any more points slip by my grasp.
"My Zero Hour is the main event, live on Pay Per View in front of the entire world. Yours is this week at Center Stage, Chandler, as your fifteen minutes tick down second by second, until they evaporate as you look at the lights of the MCW Arena and realize that you've just been passed over by someone who has nothing left to lose. I hope you enjoy the feeling."
...FADE OUT
