Doubting yourself
(Cueup: "Holiday" by Green Day)
(Fade in on a clip from last year's Merrython)
Brandon Jacobs: Anarky opens up the bag…. OH MY GOD THE BAG JUST EXPLODED AND A PAINT BOMB HAS BLINDED ANARKY FACE WITH RED AND GREEN PAINT!
(huge crowd pop)
Vic Waters: IT WAS A TRAP!
Jacobs: Copycat knees him in the stomach…. COPYCAT PICKS ANARKY UP FOR THE LITTERBOMB…. HE HITS IT! Copycat rolls him up for the pin! 1--------------------------------------------2-----------------------------------------3!
Ring Announcer: The winner of the match….. COPYCAT!
Crowd: COPYCAT! COPYCAT! COPYCAT!
Waters: Anarky isn’t going to be happy when he gets all of that paint out of his eyes and realizes what has happened here.
(The image freezes on a shot of Anarky's paint-splattered face as he lies on the canvas. After a second, Copycat walks in front of the frozen image, which is apparently part of a computer-generated background. Copycat wears jeans, his trademark beret, and a WFW Copycat "SMARTEST PLAYER IN THE GAME" T-shirt. The WFW World Heavyweight Title belt is draped over his shoulder. He turns to glance at the backdrop)
Copycat: I know how much you love this clip, Anarky, so I thought it'd be only fair to show it to you one more time.
(Copycat turns back to face the camera)
Copycat: So...Anarky-Copycat, Part Three! Everyone knew it had to happen sooner or later. As soon as that number-one contender match was signed for Merrython, I knew who the fans wanted to see get the win. Sean Edmunds and I have had our wars, but he's already been part of the World Heavyweight Title picture here in WFW. But Anarky...for all his time in WFW, he's never really had a chance to be the number-one contender, save the So Cal Rumble, which doesn't really count. Psycho's had a chance, Felix Red's had a chance. Even Jared Wells, for reasons I can't hope to understand, has had his taste of success. And now finally, Anarky's gotten his shot. It's almost kind of inspiring.
(Copycat shakes his head with faux sadness)
Copycat: That's why it's going to be kind of disappointing for me to have to shoot him down once again. Now Anarky, you seem to have this idea that the past doesn't matter. Of course, I could reiterate what I told you the last time I faced you one-on-one, which is that the best indicator of present behavior is past behavior, and it would be all the more accurate, because I was proved right last time...but I'd hate to have to repeat myself. Now mind you, Anarky...the past does matter. You of all people should know that. If I hadn't beaten you last year and gotten you "all riled up," as they say, L.O.V.E. would have never been formed. Chances are, Psycho would have never become the North American champion. Chances are, Jared Wells would never have become the BAD World Heavyweight champion. Chances are, Felix Red would never have become the WFW president. You should be a little more grateful for the past, Anarky. If nothing else, it allowed you to surround yourself with people more capable of success than yourself. Vicarious living, that's the key.
(Copycat laughs emptily)
Copycat: The past -- OUR past, in particular -- has, in some odd way, helped you, Anarky. But as we get set to give it another go one-on-one, I feel it's my duty to inform you that, once again, the past will be your downfall. That's why I've decided to dig up the film clip you see frozen behind me. If you pay attention, you'll see that it illustrates quite nicely the reasons why you're going to come up short yet again, Anarky. Let's take a look at just WHY I beat you the last time.
(Copycat looks behind him as the clip in the background comes alive again)
Brandon Jacobs: Anarky opens up the bag…. OH MY GOD THE BAG JUST EXPLODED AND A PAINT BOMB HAS BLINDED ANARKY FACE WITH RED AND GREEN PAINT!
(huge crowd pop)
Vic Waters: IT WAS A TRAP!
(The clip freezes)
Copycat: I outsmarted you.
(The clip reanimates)
Jacobs: Copycat knees him in the stomach…. COPYCAT PICKS ANARKY UP FOR THE LITTERBOMB…. HE HITS IT! Copycat rolls him up for the pin! 1--------------------------------------------2-----------------------------------------3!
(The clip freezes again)
Copycat: I outwrestled you.
(The clip reanimates)
Ring Announcer: The winner of the match….. COPYCAT!
Crowd: COPYCAT! COPYCAT! COPYCAT!
(The clip freezes)
Copycat: I had the fans on my side.
(The clip reanimates)
Waters: Anarky isn’t going to be happy when he gets all of that paint out of his eyes and realizes what has happened here.
(The clip freezes, once again on a shot of Anarky's paint-splattered face)
Copycat: And in the end, you just didn't have what it took to beat me.
(Copycat turns back to the camera)
Copycat: Do you see the connection yet, Anarky? I'm still smarter than you. I'm still a better wrestler than you. I still have the fans on my side. And though for the past year, you've postured and preened and tried to convince everyone who would pay attention that you can still go like you used to, you STILL don't have what it takes to beat me, or, for that matter, hold the World Heavyweight Title. Nothing's changed. I watched your little promo, Anarky, and do you know what I saw? DOUBT. For all your threats, it's plain to anyone that can read between the lines -- YOU DON'T THINK YOU CAN BEAT ME.
(Copycat adopts a sarcastic look)
Copycat: You didn't say anything you haven't said every time you and I have been on opposite sides of the ring, because you don't know what else to say. "The past doesn't matter" is the best you can do? That is the mantra of a LOSER. That is the mantra of someone desperate to find something, ANYTHING, to maintain his confidence. How's that working for you, Anarky? Does it do anything to convince you that this time, you might not lose? OF COURSE NOT. There is nothing in the world that can convince you of that, although I'm sure you tried. I'm sure you thought about pointing out the victories you hold over me in tag matches, but then you remembered that none of those was really a victory over ME. Sure, you and your buddies in L.O.V.E. made El Arco Iris give up, and sure, you and your buddies in L.O.V.E. managed to put Scotty Michaels down for the count. Jared Wells even holds a pinfall victory over me. But you, Anarky? You've always just been a bystander. And what's more, you have never -- EVER -- pinned my shoulders to the mat. I know you'll deny how much that weighs on your mind. But I know if it didn't, you wouldn't pull out that tired old "the past doesn't matter" line. Nor the "respect doesn't matter" line.
(Copycat cracks a hint of a grin)
Copycat: You didn't think I'd ignore that one, would you? If I hadn't seen the doubts that plague you before, I couldn't have missed it when you busted out that one. I couldn't just SEE the doubts. I could hear them. I could smell them. I could TASTE them. It was OBVIOUS, Anarky -- you didn't believe a WORD of what you said about respect. In the past, I've accused you of living in your own little world, and while I still don't think that's entirely inaccurate, I think it's finally starting to dawn on you just how incapable you are. That victory over Sean Edmunds? I know that didn't do anything for your self-esteem. You needed Felix Red to save your ass early on, and you STILL couldn't get the job done until John Doe beat Edmunds up. And since I know you follow my every move, I know you saw me beat Edmunds at Cherry Blossom Chaos ALL BY MYSELF.
(Copycat adjusts the title belt on his shoulder)
Copycat: At any rate, Anarky, you should know that I'm no longer worried about GETTING respect. This championship belt carries with it an obligation of respect. No, for me, it's now about GIVING respect. And if you want to have any hope of taking this title, you'd better start proving yourself worthy of my respect. You can say respect isn't important, you can say I'm delusional for placing so much emphasis on it, but before you do that, why don't you take a look at THIS...
(Copycat takes the belt off his shoulder and holds it up for the camera)
Copycat: ...and TELL me who's delusional. For the past year, I've been placing huge weight on the importance of respect. For the past year, people have been telling me there's no place in this sport for respect. And for the past year, I've been taking EVERY SINGLE ONE of those doubters and beating the respect out of them. I can tell you're starting to doubt your own resolve, Anarky, but you'd better speed it up if you want to have the right mindset when you and I go at it, one on one, for the third time.
(Copycat puts the belt back on his shoulder)
Copycat: Because no matter what you do, Anarky, I will NOT lose this World Heavyweight Title to someone I don't respect. It's that simple. If you think your will to destroy me is anywhere NEAR as strong as my will to hold on to this championship belt, then it's YOU who are delusional. And THAT, Anarky...
(Copycat cracks a slight grin)
Copycat: ...is just all there is to it.
(Fade out)