GREENSBORO 2ND: Dan Ryan vs. Rocko Daymon

[TH]

The Ego Buster battles the Brain Rocker

Ryan Beat:
John "The Prophet" Adams

Daymon Beat:
Adam Benjamin

 

[RStrawsma]

SCENE BEGINS

(Fade into a misty mid-afternoon along a wide mountain path lined with patches of evergreen trees. While the sun just begins to sink in the western sky, a figure can be seen walking along the path in the distance, going uphill. He bounces lightly in a jog until he can be recognized by the camera. The jogger is none other than Rocko Daymon, clad in training pants and a t-shirt, in spite of the chilly air. Upon coming to the camera, he stops and stands with his hands on his hips, taking in a few breaths before looking to the camera and nodding slightly with a welcomingly smile.)

Rocko Daymon
Once a month, I scale this mountain from base to summit. It’s not bad for an afternoon’s work-out. Jogging up these uphill paths increases my endurance and pushes my limits. I’ve quite a few memories on this peak…

When I first came to Tacoma near the start of my professional wrestling career, tackling this mountain was one of the first things I put on my agenda. It looked like a viable natural challenge that I could overcome. So, one summer’s day seven years ago, I starting climbing early one morning, and didn’t come back until late in the evening, red in the face and huffing and wheezing like an old man having just ran a mile.

I underestimated the mountain, but I conquered it just the same. Like clockwork, I take my monthly trip up to the top. Since my first time, I’ve gotten used to the challenge. A hike up and down takes as much as a few hours, which go by faster than you’d think. But even though scaling this mountain has practically become a gesture to me, I continue to climb once a month. Every time I come back, I’m always that much stronger. It also gives me time to think.

(With a nod in the direction of the path, Daymon continues hiking. The camera crabs to keep him in frame.)

Rocko Daymon
So, enough chit-chat. Let’s talk business. Let’s talk TEAM.

I’m happy to be in the second round of the Greensboro Division of TEAM’s invitational tournament… but at the same time, I’m a little disappointed to have eliminated a great wrestler like Adam Benjamin so early. This isn’t the first time we’ve met in the first round of a tournament and one of us had to be sent home before taking the next step.

Adam has a great talent, and it would have been better to have seen him go further. Now that I think about if, if I had met Adam in one of the later matches of the tourney with greater stakes on the line, the results may have been quite different. You can never tell with a guy like him; every time we meet, I barely crawl away with the victory. He gets closer to beating me with each encounter. Hell, look at our match. Even I thought he kicked out of the Brain Rocker. It was that close.

Knowing Adam, we’ll fight again—maybe here in TEAM, or maybe elsewhere. I look forward to our next match, because I always walk away a better wrestler than I was before the bell rang. I can always count on him to bring me to my limit.

But, with my victory, I move on from Adam Benjamin to a new opponent, and another familiar face.

Of all the professional wrestlers in this tournament, Dan Ryan is perhaps the best example of a true veteran. Hell, when you look at the plethora of feds he’s been in, you could probably recite the entire alphabet, and I’m sure he has just as many W’s tacked onto his record.

Dan practically dominated John Adams through every second of his first round match. That either tells you that the other big man wasn’t quite all he was cracked up to be, or that maybe Ryan is that much of a monster in the ring. However you look at it, he’s made quite a powerful start on the road to the finals.

Unfortunately, he’s going to hit quite a speed bump the minute he steps into the ring with me. I’m going to do everything I can to see that the esteemed professional wrestling legend’s train is unexpectedly derailed by the one person nobody favored to make it as far as round three.

But I suppose saying that is different from actually doing it. I mean really, how can I argue my case against Dan Ryan? The Dan Ryan! The Ego Buster! World Champion in countless federations, including CSWA. Six feet and seven inches of solid muscle, practically built for destruction. Christ, did you see how he lifted all 330 pounds of John Adams off the ground and drilled him into the mat with the Humility Bomb?

I’m no slouch, but how can I compete against a reputation like that? How can anybody for that matter?

There’s no question who the favorite to win is. Dan Ryan is practically an unstoppable force anywhere he goes. The list of names he’s taken stretches from here to Timbuktu.

But there is, however, one name exempt from that list, and it happens to be mine. So Dan Ryan can be the feared and respected warrior he is… but I like to think that maybe, in the past year where he’s done nothing but rule much of CSWA… maybe, someone was lurking around unnoticed in some of the lesser-rated feds, day by day growing and improving as a competitor… sharpening his skills to match those of any well-respected athlete, to be prepared for any challenge that would await him. Maybe during all that time, the David to Dan Ryan’s Goliath was quietly coming to life.

And maybe that person just happens to be me.

(He looks to the camera briefly with a confident smile.)

Rocko Daymon
I’m not the kind of man who makes promises or makes plans for his victory celebration in advance… but I willingly ignore the odds, even when they’re stacked against me.

In any case, I won’t allow myself to simply be perceived as a name to fill the brackets, mere cannon fodder for a favorite like Dan Ryan. I acknowledge the challenge, whether it’s massive or miniscule. I measure it, prepare for it, and adapt to it in the ring. That’s how I’ve gotten this far. That’s how I’m going to go even further.

That’s how I’m going to fight Ryan…

(He stops again, takes a few deep breaths, and turns fully to the camera.)

Rocko Daymon
This mountain, this tournament, this match… it’s all the same. They’re all obstacles, and by overcoming them I not only better myself but also breach a new stage of greatness. I don’t pay attention to the hype or the commentators. When the bell rings, it will be the two of us in the ring, and I’m going to do everything in my power to show Dan Ryan that I can compete on his level, and win.

(With these final words said, Daymon turns and continues jogging up the path. The camera fades to black.)

SCENE ENDS

 

[DBrunkGXW]

FADE IN....

Dan Ryan stands, hands in his pockets in the main living room of a medium-sized house in Houston, TX. Light streams in through the windows. The room is totally empty, the dust in the air illuminated by the sunlight. The house is in disrepair and has a look of being lived in - but not recently - a long time ago perhaps. Wallpaper peels from the walls and floorboards creak when he walks.

Ryan scans the room, takes it in. The room is rather large, taking up nearly half the floorplan with windows all along the backyard side.

Ryan: "I grew up here, Daymon."

"Here in the suburbs of Houston I lived from the day I was born until the time my family left for Japan. And when I made my early money in this business and my family joined me back in the states, I bought it back for them. They loved this place. So many memories."

"Everything here is old, but I see the joy, I see the pain, I see the heartache....I see the life that existed between these walls for years and years. I can taste it, palpable....like it was happening in front of me."

"This place is thick with history for me."

"When my parents died I wanted nothing to do with anything that reminded me of them. I left this place to rot, empty....alone. I was empty too for a time. I lost my parents and daughter in one second in time, with absolutely no control over the situation."

"Professional Wrestling has been my life for ten years, Daymon."

"From the moment I first got into a ring in Osaka, stretched by my trainers - friends of my father - to my debut as a professional back in '97, wrestling has been an outlet for every part of my pysche that I hated, that I had no control over."

"When stress overwhelms you in life, Daymon....you have to master it somehow, the way you mastered the mountain. But the mountain doesn't fight back does it? You control the situation, even deciding when to fight."

"This business...the stress and inner turmoil that I had to face every day of my life...it never rests, never waits for you to get ready. I had to be ready at all times."

"I had to hear the news of my only child's death the same night I won my first GXW World Title."

"Can you relate to what I've overcome?"

"See, that's the nature of this business. We're a 'what have you done for me lately' industry and we choose to forget where our ...'heroes'...came from. You look at me and you talk like everyone else does these days."

"Are you aware that I've never once referred to myself as a legend? But it's spoken all the time. When Steven Shane came to Empire Pro and signed his contract, he said I was a 'Wrestling God'."

"Now I don't know if he was just kissing his new boss' ass or what, but the point is everyone sees everyone else in the present and themselves in terms of what they've gone through."

"You want me to see you through the prism of self-growth, of self-discovery and of meeting your challenges head on. I applaud that, Daymon - I really do. You'll find no animosity here."

"But the determination that made me a man who inspires phrases like...legend....wrestling God...and the like, still runs as strongly as it did ten years ago. If it didn't I wouldn't be who I was."

"In the last year you say I've done little but lorded over CSWA. Well...I suppose your seclusion in places away from me keep you from keeping tabs on what I've really been doing. In fact, I've spent my last year in preparation."

"I've prepared myself for life after an active ring career, despite being in my prime. I've returned through adversity to New Frontier and stand here without a loss. I returned through controversy to the A1 Circuit, defeating the biggest name in the company not less than a week ago."

"I've made a name for myself in other ways, too. So many of us are so self-serving, but I've made a habit of signing on with start-up companies in order to lend my status to their endeavors. The future of our business depends on healthy competition - good companies with good leaders will be what drives the industry long after I'm gone."

"And Rocko, after ten years of preparation - I've come to a point where I'm more polished as a human being, a professional wrestler and a businessman than I've ever been in my entire life. The man you see before you is not the man you competed with and around before. Everyone grows, you've grown as well - but again, don't make the mistake of seeing the world through self-centered glasses."

"That's me in summary right now, Rocko. So now that we've traded our personal roads to discovery and motivations for being great let's talk about the here and now."

"You beat Adam Benjamin - nice job. I beat John Adams - a guy with the name of a president and the skill of a split pea. They think if you pit two big men together you'll get some sort of epic struggle."

"You've got a great career ahead of you - you've got skill and a decent head on your shoulders. But I don't know what to tell you, man."

"You're hopeful. You've made a conscious decision to defy the odds and take me on come what may. Maybe this is your big breakthrough moment, right? If not you, who? If not now....et cetera et cetera...."

"I'm confident, Daymon. I'm confident in more than just my ability. I'm confident in life and the nature of it. All things come around eventually."

Ryan walks toward the line of windows along the back of the house and looks into the backyard - and smiles..

"History - is nothing if not a consistent reminder of who you are."

"History tells me you win some and you lose some. Life tells me it's how you handle the losses that tells you who you are. The only way to find out what's inside a man is to squeeze him and see what comes out."

"Everyday, Daymon - no matter where it leaves me, it isn't enough. I want more - everyday. I win and I want to win again. I lose and I want to correct it."

"I'm the most driven man you'll ever face in the ring, no matter how high in the rankings or in the local wrestling mythos I ascend."

"I'm also one of the biggest and most talented."

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't perceive you as just another name to fill the brackets. I see you as a very talented wrestler with a bright future."

"But I have to be better. Nothing else is acceptable."

Ryan walks toward the front door still looking around.....

"You know.............I think I'll finally refurbish this place after all."

Ryan smiles...then glances at the camera....and walks out....

FADE OUT...

 

[DBrunkGXW]

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