How soon we forget

[DBrunkGXW]

"One of these things is not like the other.....



---------
DAN RYAN sits alone....

A dressing room on the road; familiar surroundings.

Can't say there are mouths to feed. Nothing drives the hunger anymore except the abiding need to be great. Nothing brings him here but his nature.

Nothing annoys him more than those who cannot accept theirs.

Ryan:(Looking up from his seat on a bench) "Shane Southern....."

"Hey look man, I know you've got your match this week and I've got mine. Rabesque is a hell of a technician. You'll have your work cut out for you. I've got a man who you and I both know well.....you in the ring, me in and out of it."

"We should probably both be focusing on those things, and for the most part....actually....for the whole part until now...we have."

"There's just something about you right now that isn't sitting quite right with me, Shane."

"Who are you, man?"

"I mean really. Who are you right now? Because it's funny, but I could swear that as soon as this company announces the new lineup in it's restart you appear on my television just as happy to be here as you could possibly be."

"That's the old Shane Southern that everyone remembers around here I'm sure. A lot of the fans in Greensboro are rather myopic in their viewing habits."

"But not all of us are willing to play the part of the deaf, blind and dumb."

"Am I to forget that you s**t on your golden boy legacy less then six months ago? Am I to pretend as though you're the same ol' good ol' boy that you used to be?"

"What's with the act, Shane? What is it with you anyway? Do you figure it works for you here so ya might as well go back to it? Did you not think the people in charge over here would like your new 'take no prisoners do whatever it takes' outlook on life?"

"Don't worry, I know."

"You're not trying to impress me. Yeah yeah....we know, man. Save it."

"So who are you trying to impress? Who are you trying to look good to? And the most important question of all...."

"Do you even know who you are anymore?"

"Does Shane Southern even have an identity anymore? Did he ever?"

"One day Shane, you're gonna wake up and get out of bed...and realize after failing once again that every gimmick in the world won't gain you one single ounce of true respect, true honor or true victory in this sport."

"I spent the first five years of my life pretending to be something I'm not just to entertain the fans, to impress bookers and to get ahead in this game. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. But one day I woke up.....one day I found who I really was....and I absolutely refused to ever play by anyone else but my own rules for as long as I'm in this business."

"So tell me, Shane....who are you?"

"You better find out before Anniversary. If you don't.....the window will close once again. Jean Rabesque may be all you've got left...."

FADE OUT

 

[SouthernBoy]

{{...FADE-IN: Shane Southern. CSWA backdrop...}}

SHANE SOUTHERN: " Honestly Dan, sometimes I wonder if you ain't took too many knocks to tha' head. I'm not out here ta' play some sorta' gimmick game. I dunno what you've been watchin' for tha' past few weeks on NFW Tee-Vee, but it sure don't sound nuthin' like me. Do I have ah' more aggressive style? Hell yeah. Will I break a few rules to get tha' JOB done. Oh you can bet yer ass I will. Will I crack yer skull open with ah' steel chair at Anniversary if it means gettin' tha' title off ya'? You can bet tha' farm Dan. "

" My style has changed Dan, my attitude has changed. But Dan, my DESIRE for this sport, my WANT ta' win, that has never been as strong as it is ta'day. I took mah'self to another level...a level that alotta' people don't like...hell, it's a level EYE don't like...but it's ah' level that gets tha' job done. "

" Ya' know, nuthin' ah'bout me has EVER been ah' "golden boy" image. Perhaps people like you, people that don't know me, that don't pay too much attention to tha' world outside of their own head will say I'm some sort of GOLDEN boy. But I was branded that Dan. I was branded that my wrestlin' announcers, by promoters, by owners lookin' for tha' big baby-face ta' play tha' role. I happily played tha' ROLE, for a long time...but now, I'm just me. I am NOT a role model. I drink. I party. I cuss. I've always been that way...only now, that I add tha' aggressiveness, tha' willingness ta' do what it takes ta' win...I've been branded again...this time as ah' man with no direction, almost a "heel" if you will. "

" But I'm not any of those things Dan. I'm Shane Southern. I'm tha' man that's gonna' take yer title at Anniversary. I'm tha' MAN that's gonna' give you more than you thought possible. I'm tha' MAN that's gonna' BEAT tha' man. "

" Ya' know Dan, tha' NFW is not tha' CSWA. There are things you ... just don't know ah'bout ... that are goin' on over there. But I tell you what, you take ah' front row seat at CRASH when I take tha' stage ta' let a few things off mah' chest. You listen, n' maybe you'll understand. MAYBE you'll finally get who Shane Southern is. Maybe you understand what drives me ... what kind of wrestler, and what kind of MAN that I really am. "

" Then again, knowin' you ... you probably won't. "

" Party's Over. "

 

[DBrunkGXW]

FADE IN

Living room, with DAN RYAN sitting front and center....

There's an armchair in which the champ is leaning back with his handed intertwined behind his head and a slightly bemused smirk. Otherwise, we are relaxed today.

Ryan: "Shane, I just love how you've found your 'This is who I really am' speech. You searched long and hard and finally discovered it. Bravo for you."

"I also love how you're still saying 'Party's Over' at the end of it after saying you're not playing a role or gimmick."

"Do you say that in every day life, Shane?"

"Yeah, I can see it man."

"Shane Southern at the laundrymat: The dryer finishes, Shane Southern gets his clothes out, folds them and announces.....'Party's Over'."

"Shane Southern at church: The preacher hits a good point. Everyone else says amen. Shane Southern jumps to his feet and, filled with the Holy Ghost screams 'PARTY'S OVER!!' "

"Shane Southern during sex. Upon reaching that oh so special moment allows a stammering and out of breath 'Party's Over' in that special lovable New Awleans way."

"Come on, Shane. You've still got the same DESIRE that you always did??"

"You always had the desire to do what exactly? To have your balls dragged around a company by Aaron Douglas of all people?? Guaranteed, Shane....I don't care if Aaron Douglas had as his secret that I killed my own family and propped them up as mannequins in a down South country store....I'd take him by his scrawny little neck and break it. He'd never get the chance to say a damn thing about me, and I sure as HEEEEEELL wouldn't be made into his puppet just so he didn't flap his little gums."

"So don't tell me about the things I just don't know about. The only new thing you've added to your game is a raging bitch streak."

"Honestly, it's not that important to me that we understand each other, Shane. All I really want from you is for you to be a f**king man. Maybe that's a concept foreign to you. You drink, you cuss, blah blah blah blah blah. Well that changes everything. I guess I take everything back, Shane. It really is the real you. Unfortunately, apparently the real you is a pu**y."

"So don't think for one second that this bull**it 'I'm a man now' schtick means anything to me as far as our match goes. I've been a real man since I came here, and that's why I am where I am. That's why I've survived in the most hostile environments possible.....here all alone....in NFW against you in your building....."

"You're good. I'll never say otherwise."

"I'm just better."

"And as much as I usually dig parties Shane, this one looks a little cheaply put together."

"Maybe it's time your party really was over...."

FADE OUT