Fade In


* We open to the interior of a darkened room looking like something featured in a documentary about the occult. After browsing the room we find a sign that reads the "Church Of Satan" along with a large number of pictures featuring Anton LaVey. Near the back of the room we gain sight of confessional booth that says "OCCUPIED" on each side. Inside the compartment to the left we see none other than the acting High Priest of the Satanic Church, Magnus Gilmore looking down at the floor. *


Magnus: So tell me son. What is it you wish to confess to the Father today?


Voice: Well it's like this Pete...


Magnus: Please. Call me Father.


Voice: Whatever you say. Anyway, I came here to make a confession that may involve the church in a matter of ways.


Magnus: Please continue.


Voice: It was just a regular day, you know. But something felt different for some reason.


Magnus: Go on.


Voice: So, there I am. Just driving along, minding my business when suddenly I came across a house that really caught my eye. The address was 2300 Grayson Drive.


Magnus: I'm familiar.


Voice: I walk to the house and you know what? It’s not a house after all. Turns out it was the entrance to a retirement community. I move through the first building on the right and they pass me through security. A few seconds later I spot some disabled lady having trouble making her way back to her apartment. So, being the gentlemen that I am, offered to give her a hand to make sure she made it back home without any serious problems.


Magnus: Did she?


Voice: Thanks to me, she did. She even offered to give me a tip for helping her with her crutches and oxygen tank.


Magnus: Did you take it?


Voice: Sort of. A few seconds after making the offer I managed to her on the floor in a spread eagle position--


Magnus: Wait a second. Did you say 2300 Grayson Drive?


Voice: Yea. Anyway, like I was saying. I had her on the floor but the bitch just wouldn’t stop moving around so I had to knock her ass out with a snow globe she had lying around. It cracked the old bitch wide open. But once I had some control --


Magnus: THAT WAS MY MOTHER!!!!


* The door slams open and Magnus Gilmore exits the confessional booth in a rage of anger. Magnus looks to the other side of the booth to see the door left open with no one in sight. As he turns to see behind his shoulder Magnus gets punched in the face by a large man wearing a leather jacket. The camera view drops to the floor where Magnus is found. A black leather boot steps into the frame and the cameras pan up to reveal the attacker as Michael James *


Michael James: So this is the face of evil huh?


* James kicks Magnus in the face in an effort to keep him grounded *


Michael James: Gimme a fucking break.


* James drags Magnus like dead weight. He lifts him up and tosses him into one of the open confessional seats. He turns away from Magnus and drags one of the empty pews along the floor. James takes a seat on the pew and glares towards the booth where Magnus Gilmore is found in a state of shock *


Michael James: Tell me something chief. Does the name Cyren ring any bells?


Magnus: Siren?


Michael James: Don't you fuck with me, Gilmore. You know exactly who i'm talking about--


* Magnus spits in his face *


Michael James: Now that, my moronic friend, was a mistake.


* James stands up and approaches the booth. He pulls the hood from Magnus’ robe over his head and tightly down around his chin. James uses the bagginess of the robe to tie a tight knot around his head like a schoolyard bully. James grips the back of his head by a handful of Gilmore’s robe and walks him over to a nearby wooden inverted cross laid across one of the walls. James locks Magnus in with a front face headlock and then sends his head crashing through the inverted cross with a spike DDT. James makes it back to his feet and pulls a cigar from inside his shirt pocket and places it to his lips *


Michael James: Game, set, match. Bitch.


* James pulls a lighter from his pocket and brings the flame to the tip of the cigar. He exhales a cloud of smoke and looks down at a possibly injured Magnus Gilmore *


Michael James: I always found it amusing to learn how weak these evil-doer types turn out to be. Take the Oklahoma Bomber as a perfect example. The guy was recognized by the press as “pure evil” simply because he died on the slab with his eyes wide open. In reality, he was just a punk bitch with a U-Haul truck and a bunch of c-4. He wasn’t pure evil and he wasn’t a product of anything supernatural. He was just another idiot who happened to think outside the box in order to put his plans into action. When it was all said and done, things didn’t turn out the way he expected them to. He expected to become an object of attention for years to come. He wanted fame, fortune and hundreds of people wanting his side of the story. But you know what he got instead? A lethal injection and enough shit in his pants to start his own fertilizing company. Sometimes in life things don’t always turn out the way people usually expect them to. It doesn’t matter who you are or what system you use to base your beliefs and confidence, it all comes down to the complex dexterity of human nature. Just take a look at Cyren’s attempt to strike back from the loss he suffered to me at Nero’s Games. Despite whatever imaginary confidence he is using to show some kind of intimidation, none of it is going to give him the outcome he’s looking for. No matter how hard he tries or how much smoke he blows out of his ass, the stage is set for his humiliating second defeat to me at Madness. And don’t get me wrong. I understand that I should acknowledge him as a worthy opponent but after hearing what he had to say I am having a REALLY hard time taking the guy seriously. To be completely honest I really expected more from him. I expected something with actual creativity but instead he comes at me with the same tired bullshit he uses on a regular basis. But you know what? I’m fine with that. If he wants to make an ass out of himself by relying on stereotypical dialogue and pointless sex puns to get through matches then I wish him the best of luck. It didn’t work for Dante, Chambers, Lost or Randall Cross but maybe it will work for you, Cyren. To be honest I really don’t care. All I really care about right now is moving towards bigger and better things that have nothing to do with you.


* James exhales the smoke from his nostrils and ashes the cigar on Magnus Gilmore *


Michael James: In case you forgot what happened the last time you faced me Cyren, allow me to refresh your memory. You LOST. So please do me a favor and save any excuses about being sick for someone who gives a shit because as you can tell, I don’t. Unlike you I don’t have to make excuses because I didn’t lose. That was you, asshole. And you know what? Madness isn’t going to be any different. You’re still the same piece of shit that I beat with a fucking fish hook back in November so don’t think your effort to get under my skin is going to change the outcome of this match. To be perfectly honest I’m doing you a favor by granting you the opportunity to redeem yourself when everyone knows you don’t deserve it. You don’t deserve to be placed in high profile matches and you sure as hell don’t deserve to be anywhere remotely close my XWF title. I know you think you do because you call yourself a legend and probably had championship merit at one point in time. But you know what, Cyren? That was then and this is now. I’m the future and you’re the past. It’s not that hard to understand but since I know you’re just a few fries short of happy meal I can see why you have problems accepting the things you can’t change. I’ve gone head to head with some of the best the XWF has to offer and walked away without a fucking scratch. I beat you, Christian Lost and Randall Cross because none of you assholes can measure up to the talent that I bring to the table. Talk is cheap and that’s all you have to offer. You haven’t done a fucking thing worth mentioning since your return to the company but stir shit and beg for attention from people who wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire. And just like everything else you do, that doesn’t impress me either, Cyren. You can call yourself a legend but from where I’m sitting you’re just another piece of shit. Make whatever excuses you want but the truth is legends don’t lose the way you lost to me at Nero’s Games. They find a way to persevere and fight through whatever possible conflict is placed in front of them. But you couldn’t do that. Could you, Cyren? You know why? It’s because you aren’t a legend. You never were. You’re just a mid card douche nozzle with nothing left in the tank.


* James adjusts his sunglasses and moves towards the sanctuary of the church *


Michael James: I think you need to just take a moment to sit down and think about what you’re getting yourself into, Cyren. As much as you want to lie to yourself about this match being a cakewalk you need to realize exactly who you’re fucking with here. You're fucking with me, you're fucking with the Personification of Perfection, the motherfucking best wrestler this promotion has. Not Randall Cross. Not Soldier. Not Peter Gilmour. Not Mary Flynn and not Jaymz Dante. Not people who come and go. Not people like you who piss their pants, leave to dry them off, then come back and make up excuse after excuse. In this game your looks can only carry you so far and after that your intellect can only carry you further on. After that, it’s your decision making, your skills, that carry you even further. But then, to continue playing you have to continue changing, continue accepting pathetic challenges by sore losers and continue making things happen. Sure I've heard from Cyren but who the fuck cares? Fuck Cyren. But you know what? Even after it's all said and done, even after I beat all these guys and even after I reign as XWF champion, no one will care. They'll still look at me with a smirk on their face and no respect whatsoever and that's what angers me the most. I've done a lot for this place, week in and week out just to get disrespected and shit on. I can't continue hearing like Cyren and Angelus second guessing my power. Those who walked out on the fed, those who found somewhere else to nest, good for them. But you know what else? The XWF will live another day no matter who goes or who stays. Just like I will remain as the best the company has to offer no matter who comes, goes or is stupid enough to get in my face. I’m getting really sick and tired of hearing the same old bullshit. I know we're bound to hear it time and time again, but the same talk from the same people. It's not really their trash talk or what they come up with; it's the fact that they still don't take a moment to take it all in. Just like you haven't taken time to think over your first loss to me, Cyren. I want you to watch it, relive it and take in as much as you can before facing me a second time on Madness. Trust me asshole, you’re definitely going to need it.


* He extends his arms in a crucifix pose while gripping the cigar between his teeth. He laughs at his own mockery of the church as he turns his attention towards the camera *


Michael James: With any given confrontation you have to know exactly where you stand in the eyes of your opponent. I know without a doubt in my mind that I scare the living hell out of anyone who is booked against me. Even guys like Tax and Page said they wouldn’t want to face me and I don’t blame them. They saw exactly what I’m capable of doing and wanted no part of it. But you Cyren, you want that pain and agony. You've been running your mouth for months about how much you’ve wanted the chance to redeem yourself and now that you have the opportunity to do exactly that, you’re flushing it down the toilet like you do everything else. You see, I know how much you fear my abilities and I don’t blame you, Cyren. If I were in your shoes I’d be scared of me too. But please do us both a favor and quit holding back like a pussy and show me the “Legend” you claim to be. What’s that? You can’t remember how? Yes, that’s what I thought. More excuses just like your loss at Nero’s Games. I'm gonna give you some advice you should really consider, Cyren. Run away. Get the fuck out of the XWF before I start to vomit from the sight of you. No one gives a fuck about you anymore so why stick around? For one last match? Bitch, please. Here’s a spoiler for you. You aren’t going to win so why stick around? Why put yourself through any further embarrassment? If you're smart you'll take my advice and if you're stupid, which we all know that you are, you'll stick around for yet another loss to Michael James that you’ll never be able to come back from. I know that no one likes being talked to as an underdog but I don't care. If I have to put up with people's disrespect then what makes you so different Cyren? That's right. Absolutely nothing. I don’t care how long you've been here. I don’t give a shit what you think the company owes you because you haven’t earned a fucking thing. The only thing in debt here is the XWF title from the emptiness of my waistline. No one looks up to you Cyren so you can flush that dream right now. People see you and they see a man on his way out. They look at me and see the very future of the XWF staring back at them. And you know what? They are absolutely correct.


* James lowers his shades so they rest on his nose before taking another drag from the cigar. We walks out of frame as we open a few seconds later inside of his custom Pontiac GTO. He is driving on the interstate blasting the newest Testament album on his stereo. James looks down at his hands to see the dried blood of Magnus Gilmore stuck to his knuckles as he grows a cocky grin on his face *


Michael James: We both know what’s going to happen when we face off at Monday Madness. It’s been a long time coming and I think you knew deep down that you would eventually have to face me again. You're slowly running out of ways to defend yourself and then what will you do when everything is said and done? Go back to your pathetic life where you have to pity yourself for having nothing? I guess you enjoy being regarded as the underdog or underachiever. You're like Jaymz Dante was, trying to stir shit but when the time comes, nothing. But unlike Dante actually giving a worthwhile performance you try to spit out whatever obscenities you can to try to disgust and offend everyone around you. I hate to break it to you Cyren but I’ve seen it all before and it didn’t impress me the first hundred times I saw it. You aren’t a legend, an icon or a made man in the XWF. You’re a fucking imbecile with a terrible reputation and no possible future to speak of. After I beat you at Madness this will be the last time I will have to deal with you, Cyren. Everyone knows that you don’t have what it takes to compete on my level and this match is going to prove that for a second time. It’s going to prove that I was right when I said that you’re just another piece of shit on his way out. When I told you to go ahead and die, it wasn’t a joke. I was being completely serious. And if you happen to end up at the same place after you lose to me at Monday Madness I can promise that you won’t be coming back anytime soon. You aren’t a legend, you aren’t a champion and you aren’t a flagship name. Not anymore. You can lie to yourself as long as you want, Cyren. Make excuses for every single loss you suffer to me because that’s all you are now. One big, fat, fucking excuse.


* James reaches forward and changes the track number on the stereo. He leans back as a new song begins to play. He puts his foot down on the gas pedal and quickly speeds out of frame *


Fade Out