Name dropping

[SouthernBoy]

{{...FADE-IN: SHANE SOUTHERN is sitting on his Bourbon Street apartment balcony. He's wearing an NFW "Party's Over" T-shirt with the sleeves cut out, faded blue jean shorts, no shoes and Nike Fusion sunglasses. He toasts the cameraman with a glass of iced tea, takes a few swallows then sits it down on the floor next to him....}}

SHANE SOUTHERN: " As we are waitin' for tha' first show ta' be announced, I figured I'd take tha' time n' come home fer a while. Yeah, it's ninety <BLEEP>in' degrees here, in tha' SHADE, but hey {{...shrugs...}} it's home cher. {{...smiles...}} "

" Now there's alotta' name droppin' goin' on as tha' NFW gets ready ta' kick it inta' gear. People r' droppin' MY name like ah' hot pa-tae-ta. Alotta' guys jockeyin' fer position. Some hopin' ta' be tha' NEXT big thing, some hopin' ta' prove they can be successful OUTSIDE of tha' CSWA, some lookin' to continue what they started here in tha' NFW. Me? Well I got nuthin' ta' prove ta' nobody. ... 'cept mah'self. But if you boys wanna' drop mah' name, who am I NOT ta' respond. "

" First of all, Shawn Matthews. I tell ya' boy, fer somebody who ain't done JACK <BLEEP> in this sport for ten-some-odd years, you sure got one helluva warped sense of logic. You don't RESPECT me 'cause I've set ah'top this sport for so long? {{...laughs...}} That's a new one Shawn. I mean, I can see you not respectin' me if I didn't DESERVE tha' spot I got, but man, ta' not show me respect simply 'cause I'm BETTER than you is quite ignorant. Now ya' know, I don't plan on continually goin' BACK to tha' OLD NFW. It's history. This ain't tha' same place it was. But I feel tha' NEED ta' set tha' record straight. Mah' NFW title reign, I defended against DOZENS of most qualified wrestlers tha' NFW could put in fronta' me. Tha' fact that tha' NFW thought YOU didn't deserve a shot isn't mah' call. I'm a WRESTLER, not a booker. Can that pea brain all alone inside that cavernous head of yours UNDERSTAND that Shawn? If not, take it up with Manson, or Miles, or Sullivan, 'cause I had NOTHIN' ta' do with who did or didn't get title shots. But I can tell ya' THIS Shawn, you're GONNA' get your opportunity ta' find out if yer good enough. Question is, do you REALLY wanna find out? "

" Speakin' of GOOD enough...Hornet, ... I know damn well how good you were, ARE, and WILL be. It don't take a genius ta' figure out that you're here ta' silence some critics. You're here ta' PROVE that you can make it outside of tha' CSWA. That makes you dangerous Hornet. With your talent, and this DRIVE, you're probably tha' odds on favorite ta' take it all. I singled YOU out FIRST, as you say, because YOU chose ta' take that first STEP in mah' direction. You chose ta' begin tha' game by "bumpin'" me at tha' hotel. I simply wanted you ta' know that if you WANTED mah' attention Hornet, YOU got it. But seriously, is that really a GOOD thing? "

" And Joey Melton. {{...smirks...}} I don't know WHAT ta' say ta' you man. You criticize SHAWN Matthews for not doin' anythin' for tha' last five years, yet all I've seen from you lately is yer ability ta' get beaten down by midgets. You're a SIDE SHOW now Melton, you're tha' guy that when he goes on, people decide ta' get their popcorn. I normally don't use this phrase Joey, but in YOUR case, it's relevant. "IN YER DAY", you were somethin'. "IN YER DAY", you were capable of winnin' tha' Ultratitle. But this is a NEW DAY Joey, a day in which people bother ta' learn tha' names of their opponents...a day in which WRESTLIN' is tha' RULE, not justa' side show EXCEPTION to a comedy act. A day that has PASSED you by Joey. I hope you can prove me wrong, I really do. I never hope for the worse for anyone...but with you Joey, I've gotta' feelin' that I'm right as rain. "

{{...Southern finishes off his drink, then stands and looks out over the balcony on to the people melting in the southern heat...}}

" As I looked over tha' roster of tha' NFW South, there was alotta' guys I was happy ta' see. But one name stuck out ta' me. Evan Aho. Aho, you n' me, we've been partners n' we've been opponents. We've taken tha' tag champs to their limit as well as each other. We're one n' one against each other, n' I'm SO lookin' forward to tha' rubber match. It ain't often you can step inta' tha' ring witha' guy n' KNOW that regardless of ANYTHIN' else that's goin' on, you're gonna' get a FAIR match, yer gonna' get ONE HUNDRED n' TEN percent from your opponent. You're tha' guy that I consider mah' measurin' stick Aho. Because with you, you can factor everythin' else out, n' concentrate on tha' ONE reason we're here...WRESTLIN'. I'm lookin' forward to tha' match up Evan. "

" Chris McMillan is another one of tha' good guys, n' Chris, trust me when I say this man, you're tha' CRAZIEST sun-uva-##### out there. But you don't do it ta' be flashy, you don't DO IT for recognition, you DO IT, 'cause it's tha' only way you know...n' Chris, you do it QUITE well. There's gonna' be alotta' guys surprised by what you bring to tha' table. But I know you Chris, n' I ain't gonna' be one of 'em. {{...smiles...}} "

" Now if I didn't mention yer name, n' you feel slighted, tough <BLEEP>. Trust me, I know who each n' every one of you are n' I KNOW what it's gonna' take ta' beat you. If you got somethin' you wanna' say ta' me, hell I watch tha' NFW recap show just like you do, I'll GET tha' message. And I've gotta message of mine ta' EACH n' every ONE of you in tha' SOUTH...n' if ya' know me at all, ya' already know what it is. "

{{...smiles...}}

" Party's Over. "

{{...FADE OUT as Southern walks back inside the apartment...}}

 

[CMerritt]

[updated:LAST EDITED ON Jun-30-03 AT 06:16 PM (EST)]Shane, you ought to know me well enough by now to know that if I wanted to get your attention, a shoulder bump wouldn't be the route I'd choose. I was simply trying to catch the plane to get to a personal appointment. I apologize if you felt like I was trying play games with you.

"Odds on favorite?" Not even I would go that far. I have found it interesting that some, not you included, just as I predicted, have pointed out how 'old' I am, how tied I am to the CSWA, how overrated I am, and then in the next breath talk about how I'm 'the favorite.' I tend to take that simply as meaning folks are gunning for me.

And you did slip into that one trap, didn't ya, Shane? To be honest, I don't have any need or desire to 'prove myself' outside the CSWA. I think my record speaks for itself. It's been less than a year since I won a title in another league. Ironically, or not, just like this tournament, it's one that I didn't have a choice in competing in.

And let's use a little logic, Shane... If I were interested in 'proving myself,' I certainly wouldn't choose a company run by dear ol' Craig Miles to do it in, would I? I'd be in the fWo or Action! or GXW or somewhere else, not in a league run by somebody who gets his jollies hitting me over the head with a steel chair.

My biggest critic always has been and will be, myself. And while I appreciate the comments on my talent and my drive, I haven't deluded myself enough (that is, as much as Joey Melton) to think that either is as great as it once was.

Shane, I'll shake your hand going into the ring, and no matter what the result, I'm willing to shake your hand afterwards, because I know that it'll be straight-up. If you can take me on a given night, then you deserve the 'W,' and if you can't, well, there have been plenty who couldn't.

 

[Steve]

[updated:LAST EDITED ON Jul-01-03 AT 11:11 PM (EST)](FADE IN: Joey Melton stands in front of a backdrop of the Confederate Flag. He's got on black jeans, gator skinned boots, and a sleevless white t-shirt that reads: 'Don't Recongize This, You're Free To Leave.')

"Wait a minute. So YOUR Shane. And he's SHAWN."

"Eh."

"At least I was right on one thing. Both of you are an ass."

"In MAH day, kids who had trouble pronouncing their words correctly pumped gas. I don't know, nor do I care how you fill the intervals between cards around here, but I doubt YER kind has progressed that quickly. It took dinosaurs millions of years to evolve into birds. In a few short years, you're telling me two handfulls of leftover French suddenly got literate and learned a trade?"

(cough) "Bullsh*t."

"Though I always welcome the idea that I'm wrong."

"If you're gonna hate on side shows Shawn, please hire some opportunistic kin to transcribe your inner thoughts on large pieces of cardboard for me. Otherwise, realize...any time you open your mouth thousands of viewers everywhere suddenly play circus music in their heads. The only thing that's stopping Miles, or Merritt from having you brought down the aisle inside a cage, to be gawked at, is a general mistrust in tasers."

"But it's YAW day, and RASSLIN' counts."

"Right. Note to self, be careful when handling Shawn's virgin ears."

"You see, what you and the rest of the bottom of humanity have failed to understand is, midgets don't deny how the game is played. Their marketability is just more front and center because you've got weeds in your backyard bigger than they are. Short, and disgusting as they may be, they know the score."

"I highly doubt a new day is ready to be ushered in, at the hands of someone who willingly beds a lie every night."

"No, Shawn, in MAW day I got filthy rich working circles around misinformed, overgrown goofs with heavy drawls and two week hangovers."

"So...I'm supposed to be impressed because you can stay sober long enough to wheel out luchador moves. Southern, in MAW day I out-worked the best every sane country had to offer. In MAW day, I tagged the ears of luchadors in Mexico like farmers do cows."

"Numbered earrings aren't a trend, Shawn. It's a mark to show you got schooled by the greatest there is."

"Point being, I've been a World Champ a hundred times over because I can wrestle and put a**es in the seat. But to win the ULTATITLE, you have to be able to do both. Tough luck, Shawn. Being tagged though will help you plan for next year."

"For now be less concerned with what I'VE been doing lately, and instead wonder why you're not up to speed."

(FTB)