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Centurion · (11-03-2019)

Quote:Flashback: November 18, 2004

Centurion: Well, we where booming for so long, with the winter coming, I expected us to take a bit of a drop. We’ll jump back up next week, with Thanksgiving. Did you get that match finalized?

Walter: Yep. Centurion Vs Devil With Priests for the King of Anarchy crown.

Centurion: Alright. This guy will regret EVER crossing me.

(Centurion continues to punch away at the bag when a little girl wearing scraggily looking clothes walks up to them. Centurion pays no attention as Walter and Misty turn to face her.)

Walter: May I help you?

Girl: Yes, hi, I’m Nellie O’Malley, Jessica’s friend.

(Fifteen years ago, Nellie first came into Centurion’s life. He promised to always be there. He promised to protect her. And he did a good job…

…until he didn’t. Until he no longer could. Out of all the people in his life with whom his relationship had become strained, this was the one that will forever haunt him.

He knows Nellie will never forgive him, nor should she. This isn’t about forgiveness. This is about fulfilling a promise he made 15 years ago. Someone out there is looking to harm Nellie, and it is now on Centurion, once again, to protect her.

We open up inside a car being driven by Erin Morgan, the fiancé of Nellie. Centurion is sitting in the backseat, staring out the window. For the past 50 minutes, neither have said much to one another. Centurion goes through all the possible future scenarios in his head, while Erin’s embarrassment is obvious in her body language.)

Centurion: You could have told me.

(Centurion’s voice breaks the silence in the car. Erin doesn’t break eye contact with the road. She responds, very matter of factly.)

Erin: No, I couldn’t have. I would have gotten questions. I would have gotten judgement. And then, you would have went to your daughter and said “are you sure this is a good idea?”

Centurion: That’s not true…

Erin: Yes, it is. And it’s ok. It’s because you’re a good father. I don’t hate you for it. But this wasn’t something we needed in our lives. The less you knew, the better. I figured it would never get back to you. I figured wrong.

(Centurion sighs. He can’t argue with any of that logic, so matter how much he wishes he was better than that.)

Quote:Flashback: January 2, 2009

Nellie: Let’s be honest, Dad. You have talked about retirement many times before. It’s only natural for people to think that 2009 is your last go around. I mean – you turn 32 next month. You’ll have won 100 matches by April. Maybe this summer is your last…

Centurion: I felt good…really good in my previous match with Boondock Saint. I was able to beat somebody that the rest of the federation has struggled to do. I went toe to toe and almost defeated the current Universal Champion. Why do I need to retire this year? I don’t understand.

Nellie: Dad, you know I want you to do whatever makes you happy. I enjoy traveling with you and seeing you wrestle in the ring. But the one thing I don’t want to see happen to you is your body get so beat up and injured that you can’t do ordinary, simple tasks when you retire. You should be able to step away from this business and be able to live the rest of your life in a healthful manor.

(Centurion laughs as the flashbacks of his conversations with Nellie run through his head. “Protect her?” Yeah, maybe it wasn’t her who needed to be protected. Maybe it was him. He thinks about the life he could have lived, had Nellie not been in the picture. The drinking, the drugs, the women – he had to tone it down because of her. Had she not come into his life, he might be like many of his peers – dead.

Nellie was also always right about his career. There were many times when he did not enjoy wrestling. He probably should have stepped away from the business 10 years ago. What different direction would his life have headed if he did? Would he have still gone mad and lost all those close to him? Or would wrestling have been a faded memory by that time, and Centurion would now be enjoying the company of his loved ones in the luxury of his home?

Centurion could write a book with “what ifs”. He had played these scenarios out in his head numerous times over the years. This time, however, it’s different. He is about to see his daughter for the first time in three years. He’s nervous. Hell, he’s flat out scared. And all he can think about are the bad choices he had made in his life to get him to this point.

Quote:Flashback: January 9th, 2013

(Nellie actually turns her head slightly, to make sure Centurion can not see any expression on her face.)

Centurion: Nell…I have done a lot of things in my life that I am not proud of, but nothing more damaging to my heart then what I put you and everyone else through over the past year. The power got to my head, and it changed me into the very individual that I fought over the course of my career. There isn’t enough apologizing I can possibly do in order to make up for what I’ve done, but I am willing to do whatever it takes.

(Centurion slowly turns and goes back to looking at the lake again. A few seconds go by with neither making another sound. Centurion speaks up again.)

Centurion: I’m retiring from wrestling…

Nellie: NO!

(Nellie angrily turns towards Centurion and interrupts him, mid sentence. Centurion turns back towards Nellie, who goes on an anger fueled rant.)

Nellie: Do not make promises like those! Not anymore! Not after the past three times you said you were done! Face facts, Dad! You can’t quit! It’s in your blood! You’ll never walk away from the wrestling business until you’re being carried out in a hearse! All you’ve EVER known and all you’ve EVER LOVED is wrestling!

Centurion: That’s not true!

Nellie: It sure the fuck seems like it!!

Nellie was right. Of course she was right! It’s plainly obvious now. Anyone with half a functioning brain can see that Centurion always valued his career, his livelihood, and his reputation more than his family. But Centurion was either too blind or too stupid to see it before. Perhaps it is a combination of both.

The car pulls off the expressway and onto the exit ramp, with a sign that says “Wildwood”. They’re almost there. This has been the most painful trip of his life, and that includes the flight from London to Vancouver that he took with a broken back.

If he could take it all back, he would. There’s that word again – “if”. The harsh reality is that Centurion can’t do anything about the mistakes he has made. All he can do moving forward is dedicate his life to making things right, and that starts with making sure his demons don’t impact Nellie’s life, at any cost.

The car pulls up to a house. The house is nice – it is luxurious, but far from what you would call a “mansion”. Erin turns the car off and takes a deep breath. She looks behind her at Centurion, who just looks at the house in silence.)

Erin: You ready?

(Centurion just nods as both he and Erin open their respective doors and exit the vehicle. They walk up to the front door, Centurion making sure Erin goes first.

The sound of the television is heard as the two step inside the house. The door leads directly into the kitchen, where a figure is standing, facing the counter top, looking for some cooking materials.)

Voice: Babe, did you happen to pick up tomatoes? I’m afraid we don’t have enough for this stew…

(The figure turns around, revealing Nellie Cortinovis, the adopted daughter of Centurion. She is much more mature now. Now in her mid-20’s, she looks a lot more like her aunt. She sees Centurion and is frozen in place. Her mouth hangs open, unable to verbally convey the sense of shock she is currently feeling.)

[Image: 8wJUmol.jpg]

Centurion: Hi Nell Bell.

------Nothin’ Scares Me Anymore------

I’m going to pull the curtain back on the business a little bit here.

Every month since the beginning of time, the XWF has handed out a “superstar of the month” award. In the past, it was just up to the whims of Jon Brown and his inner circle, but in recent years, it has been put to a vote.

The vote is done by other wrestlers, which is why I never expect to actually win the damn thing. My peers find me to be boring and pretentious, which is fine. I’ve been called worse by better. It’s no surprise to me that I’m not really in the running. But you know who is? In fact, you know who the runaway favorite is?

Thunder. Fucking. Knuckles. Yes, the dude who intentionally loses matches is going to be the October 2019 Star Of The Month. THAT’S where this fucking place has gone. We no longer reward wins, or hell, even TRYING. I have never seen mediocrity rewarded as much as I have over the past few months.

“Oh, but he’s so funny. He’s so original. He should be rewarded because he’s new and having fun.” This is all coming from the same people who whine and cry about “participation trophies”. You want to give the reward to someone who is really good in the ring? Give it to Fuzz, who has had a death grip on the Xtreme Title. You want to give it to someone original? Give it to Ruby, who is nice, unique, and earned a title shot on Anarchy. You want to give it to someone new and funny? Give it to Boris, who is in the midst of a winning streak. Don’t give it to Thunder Knuckles, who loses more than he wins, and who doesn’t even want to try, and who makes a MOCKERY OF THE FUCKING SPORT!

Call me bitter old man Centurion if you want. I’m normally not one for gatekeeping, but this is complete bullshit. We’re telling the entire world that wins and losses don’t matter in the XWF. We don’t NEED wrestlers who are here to try their best. We don’t NEED competitors looking to win titles. We just need people who will make Theo Pryce and Vinnie Lane chuckle once and a while.

I was annoyed at Thunder Knuckles at first. Now? I’m fucking furious. The fact that this talentless waste of space is being propped up as the next great XWF superstar makes me as angry as I ever have been. And here’s the thing, it isn’t even really his fault. He’s telling you EXACTLY what he is. He’s only here to collect his Monopoly money. That’s it. He says it in every interview, promo, and press conference. He actively sells title shots, and demands his tag partners give him money in order to actually try and win a match. This is Thunder Knuckles.

The problem is, the people in the XWF GIVE HIM WHAT HE WANTS! They keep encouraging this behavior! And before, I thought it was all tongue in cheek, “haha look at this guy”, but knowing how that he’s going to be named STAR OF THE FUCKING MONTH, it’s clear to me that everyone is actually buy in on this guy. They want him to have staying power. Hell, they want him to be IMMORTALIZED! If they could build a statue of the fucker, they would.

So yeah, now I’m mad, and I’m going to whoop Thunder Knuckles’ ass because of it. Not that he isn’t asking for it already. Hell, he’s almost daring me to do so. He thinks he can take punishment and keep doing. Fine. I’m ready to see him prove it. My guess is, after I knock his ass out, he’ll claim he “took a dive”.

Thunder Knuckles claims I’ve never wrestled anyone like him. He’s wrong. I’ve wrestled PLENTY of people like him. I’ve wrestled plenty of unmotivated talentless jackasses who think they’re suddenly a god because they get a little bit of attention. My record is littered with folks who thought they were great, never tried to get better, and suddenly found themselves in the ring with me. By the way, every single one of those wrestlers used the same line against me. “I’ve only been here a few days, and I’ve done more than you in your entire career! I’m going to put you to rest!” Yadda yadda yadda. Honestly, it’s hard to even get mad at it anymore after hearing the same old bullshit so many times.

But here’s the thing about Thunder Knuckles. He thinks, if he DIDN’T take dives, he would be this phenomenal wrestler. He thinks he would be among the best in this company if he wasn’t trying to make a little bit of…well, cash isn’t really the word for it. And, hilariously enough, he thinks he can ACTUALLY beat me.

Or, at least that’s what he SAYS. I don’t know if he truly thinks that. He is kind of an idiot, so I’m sure he actually does. It’s straight up laughable. Even the people who love him, those pricks in the back who think I’m boring and who think Thunder Knuckles is the greatest thing to happen to comedy since Richard Pryor, think I’m going to beat him from pillar to post. They HOPE they’re wrong, but they know already what’s about to happen. There was more ambiguity over whether I would beat Mastermind or not. At least Mastermind held a belt before. He tries. There was a very miniscule chance that he would have caught me off guard, rolled me up, put his legs on the ropes, grabbed the rights, blinded me with mace, all behind the referee’s back.

But Knuckles? No, there isn’t a single scenario that exists where he comes out on top on Wednesday night. I don’t want his filthy money, so he’s not going to pay me to lose. Even if he paid off the entire roster to kick my ass, he’s still not competent enough to finish the job against me.

The one thing going in Knuckles’ favor is that this is an I Quit match. That means Knuckles can end it whenever he pleases. I don’t get to torture him for 20 minutes like I’d like to do. No, the moment the heat gets turned on, the blood starts flowing, and he realizes he is in WAY over his head, he can just say that he quits and walk backstage. That’s precisely how I see this ending, by the way. We’re going to get about five minutes in, he’s not going to get a lick of offense in against me, and he’s just going to say “fuck it” and walk away.

By the way Knuckles, I know you don’t really want to try that hard, but you should at least do a little more research than just reading my bio page. It doesn’t really tell you the full story of who I am. For example, I might be from Atlantic City, but I actually reside on the deepest recesses of your nightmares. Also, I just picked up win 150. 151 will be against you. But I appreciate you already giving me the win. It’s cool – I’ve already done the same.

Enjoy the success and adulation that comes with being Star Of The Month. It’s the highest honor you’ll ever receive. You’re certainly not walking away with a title belt anytime soon. Enjoy all the extra XBux you receive. I don’t know what you’re going to do with them, really. Buy some of that sugary cereal that Ruby sells? You know what you can’t buy with it? A better boat – one that could actually beat Boris in the Everglades.

Oh, and when you go backstage feeling a little worse for wear, bring out all the folks that continue to praise and admire you. Do it one by one. Not only do I want them to see what I did to their “hero”, but I want them to look me in the eyes and apologize for ever trying to make you a thing in this federation. Either that, or I want to drop them on the mat personally. Whichever works for them. Vita Valenteen? Sebastian Duke? Big D? Fuck them all. I’m the fucking king around here now. I’ve worked to damn hard to come back and be relevant to watch all the spotlight go to a talentless gigolo and his lowly stans.

I won’t use the catchphrase this time. I don’t want Knuckles to waste another ten minutes of television time talking about the game and making references and puns. I’ll save the XWF audience that torture. All I will say is if Knuckles thinks he knew pain, he’s in for a real ride. He’s got a pissed off legend, one who has only lost three times since April, in a match that allows me to do whatever I want and inflict as much pain and damage as I choose. How many XBux are you willing to give me to prevent me from making you look like a bombing victim?

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