SCENE BEGINS
(Urban Seattle, Washington. One of the "lower rent" districts. It's a cold November morning. Clad in a long leather trench coat, Daymon can be seen walking alongside a line of railroad tracks near a depot. Not far away are numerous dilapidated buildings of dark brown stone, holding apartments for tenants who can't afford to live anywhere else. Dogs are barking in the distance. Rocko's breath comes out in pulsating clouds of vapor. He looks up once to the camera, then to the buildings nearby.)
Rocko Daymon
Old school memories... or at least that's the way it was for me.
Ten years ago, I didn't have any soft padded mats on which to fall or a nice, warm gymnasium in which to fight. There were no bleachers filled with friends, family, and other supporters. It was just you and the other guy, and the dozen hobos gambling their dimes away.
I come from what many consider a different world. My training wasn't standard, nor was it given to me early on. In my world, it was sink or swim, and I was one of the few that elevated myself from petty pit-fighting to professional wrestling.
I didn't have my ass wiped every step of the way, like some people in this industry. Everything I am, and everything you see, I earned through my own effort. I took a beating at every turn, and it toughened me up. Through every set-back and deterance, I prevailed.
So when I hear Adam Benjamin talk about a couple of teenagers grappling at some high school event like it was the greatest thing that ever existed, I get this sour taste in my mouth. They wrestle because it is their life?
(Daymon scoffs. He looks thoroughly insulted.)
Rocko Daymon
Years ago on these railroad tracks, and in the ghettoes of every other city between the Pacific Ocean and the Mississippi, fighting wasn't some ******* "life purpose". For me, it was a way of keeping my belly full, at least until the next hitchhiker came around to take me elsewhere.
I remember this one guy I fought a few times in various places; he was a drifter like me. Fat Alfredo, they called him. Big guy, but not so much in muscle. He'd be as big as me if he cut back on the cheeseburgers. Had a hell of a right-handed haymaker on which he based his reputation. Problem is, his size affected his speed--a flaw I naturally exploited whenever we faced off.
I must have fought Alfredo three times during those years prior to my professional wrestling career, in Denver, San Diego, and here on these railroad tracks in Seattle. All three of those times, Alfredo hit the ground with a bruised face and I went home with thirty bucks in my pocket. After the first time, he kept laying down the challenge, but he refused to realize that he could never win against me, due to the sluggish weight that held him down.
A decade later, I find myself in the same damn distuation with a different man, only the one thing that holds back Adam Benjamin from beating me isn't fifty extra pounds of flab, but a wounded ego that he sustains through constant denials of his own mishaps and flaws.
I don't think I need to reiterate our history; Adam has this habit of thinking I'm trying to flaunt it for all to hear, when it was he himself who first made mention of his shortcomings against--these are his exact words--"the man, the myth, the legend" Rocko Daymon.
And how does he explain these losses? Oh, his head wasn't in the right place...
(Daymon rolls his eyes and shakes his head.)
Rocko Daymon
You know, back in my day, we didn't need excuses. When you lost a match, it was because you were an untalented piece of garbage who could only dream of being on the competitive level of his victorious opponent. You accepted that fact, and you went back to train and improve and grow until you finally got to that level.
Even in some occassions, in light of, say, an interference or underhanded tactics, you could argue your case, but back then, when you lost, there was no other explanation than at that point in time, you were inferior.
Hell, even Fat Alfredo knew he was physically below me after our third bout. He didn't know WHY, but the point is that he realized that he couldn't stand on my level.
But now, these kids and their "hip" ways like to say that whenever they lose a match, it's because their "heads" were not where they "should have been".
Ironically, if it had been Benjamin who won those past two occassions, and I was standing here saying that the reason I lost was because of the exact same thing he told me, people would immediately be crying "bull****" from here to Timbuktu.
(He waves his left hand to the camera in dismissal.)
Rocko Daymon
But whatever... I'll give him this one excuse. I can understand a man losing a match because of matters outside of the ring. I can see it happening to somebody once...
But twice, against the same opponent? That's just a little TOO coincidental. Sounds like a lame excuse if you ask me... on that I never personally had to use, because I have the sense to keep my life outside the ring out of my focus while I'm competing.
This defines the difference between men like me and pretenders like Adam Benjamin. When I step into that ring, all of my attention is on one person in one place. The second that bell sounds, I abandon my responsibilities as a husband, father, friend, and teacher. In other words, I never give my "head" the opportunity to go anywhere where it shouldn't be.
I suppose this would explain why for the past couple years, while I've been out doing something worthwhile, Adam Benjamin has flubbed around from fed to fed, following ever so closely in MY footsteps, getting beat everywhere he goes, and never realizing that no matter how hard he tries, he'll never understand that he holds himself back.
Seriously, if you don't know why you continue to lose, then why bother trying? I look at Adam's dilapidated career in Empire Pro--much more extensive than mine, I have to say, but I'm not even going to get started on the real reason why I left EPW. When I see the downward spiral upon which he's caught, desperately vying for attention and credibility with constant failed attempts at the World Title against Beast and the IC title against JA, I can't help but think... what's it going to take for him to understand? A third loss at my hands?
So much potential... all gone to waste. All that muscle, skill, and talent, built up in order to equal itself to mine, but completely lost without the proper brain to guide it.
There may be some truth to his words yet. Already, we can see that Adam Benjamin's head is not where it should be.
(Daymon turns to the camera with a confident smirk.)
Rocko Daymon
Adam, simply put, you are a DOG.
No, I'm not referring to some flea-bitten mutt... D-O-G: Delusions Of Grandeur. You are the classic example.
You ignore your own flaws, focusing only on your opponents. I never said I was perfect, Adam, but I let my record speak for itself. What makes you any different?
You accuse me of no longer having the heart and spirit it takes for a man to achieve greatness. Well, Adam, it's been seven years since I started wrestling, and if I haven't done anything, as you seem to think, then why am I still here? Don't you think that's a pretty damn good indicator of how dedicated I am as a professional wrestler? I busted my ass for a year to get the EUWC International Title, not simply because I was "going through the motions", but because I wouldn't let myself walk away with nothing after putting so much into it.
You slander my accomplishments, claiming they don't compare to what you "achieved". But what have you don yourself, Adam? Last I checked, you followed me to WFW when you realized you couldn't cope in EPW. You said the same thing there when I fought you then, and not surprisingly, I proved you to be a fool by beating you... twice.
And then, the cherry on top: Your future, you say, is just DESTINED for glorious success and achievements. Sadly, you've been saying the same thing since the first time we met in the ring in GXW. Back then, I never said I was going to accomplish many things; in fact, to this day, I have never said any such thing. I only said I would improve as a professional wrestler. And I have, accept it or not. My record doesn't lie, Adam.
You've been wrestling for quite a while now, Adam, and you've improved quite a bit since the first time we met, but it was too little too late. As I have proven numerous times in the past, I am at a level you cannot compete on. You constantly deny this fact every time we meet again, and like a moth lured by the light, you fly into my fire, and end up getting hurt once again.
It's this DOG complex that keeps you going... making yourself think that everything you've done wrong in the past is justified, and everything your opponents have done right is complete and utter bull****. But you're only looking at the world the way you want to see it. You "delude" yourself in other words...
(Daymon sighs as his eyes follow the tracks.)
Rocko Daymon
A few years ago, I got word that Alfredo died in a fight. His heart gave out while another man punched his face in; he was 325 pounds when he died.
I don't know why he continued fighting--he would never be the best. Maybe he thought that some day, he'd find an opportunity to make it somewhere like me. That ambition ultimately led him to his grave.
I admire your dedication to the sport, Adam... but you have no concept of what it means to be a true professional wrestler. To you, it's nothing but glory, no matter how you look at it. You even said in one promo, you're using this match to showcase your talents. Until you open your eyes and realize where your place is in this industry, you're only going end up like Fat Alfredo; probably going out clutching your dreams into your final days.
When we meet in the ring for this TEAM event, I hope it will be the last time I show you the talent that seperates us.
Until our match... take care.
(Daymon turns away, coat floating in the cold air behind him as he goes the way he came, following the tracks. We can hear the dogs barking in the distance again as the camera pans up to take in the rising sun in the east sky. We fade to white.)
SCENE ENDS