Static slices through the screen. And then? Nothingness. For a brief moment, the vision is left in the dark... before music slowly sifts through the speakers, playing over a field of black --
A whirring sound can be heard, as the screen flashes momentarily, intercut with static. The whirring slowly intensifies, a faint buzzing reverberates, the static and flashing begin to dissipate. As the sounds continue to echo, a face can almost be seen forming in the static. A face covered by a mask... The pace slowly, but surely begins to intensify...before a loud beat drops. The screen insantly goes black, as the song truly begins.
Images of gears in an old, rusty clock are displayed. Turning, and keeping The Machine churning... A countdown then begins, ticking down with every beat...
10...
9...
8...
7...
6...
5...
4...
3...
2...
As the '2' flashes before the screen, static rips through, and we find ourselves gazing into a mirror. A mirror into the past few years... every scene depicting the slow, painful destruction of the XWF from within.
"Hours...
Spiral and coil into black.
Some remembered, some forever gone..."
We watch as the most memorable matches from over the past twenty years are shown... mixed in with some of the worst.
"Tragic...
We never get them all back.
The relentless march of time must still go on..."
We then see someone once again appearing through the static..... someone VERY familiar.... slowly stepping out from the shadows.
"XWF… Welcome to The FUTURE! What you are looking at is the man who will be the money maker, the top dog, the marquee name for eons to come. All of you sitting in the crowd at Warfare right now are going to pay your hard earned money to buy tickets to every other XWF event, just to see me, to cheer ME, filling my pockets full of your hard-earned cash and making me into the super-fuckin'-star I DESERVE to be!!! Believe in me... or be left behind. The choice is yours..."
More visions flash across the screen. Titles won... People injured...even killed. Many unworthy men and women steal the world title that once meant so much..... everyone resorts to petty, childish, elementary school name-calling. Because they lack the ability to truly get under their opponent's skin without mocking gender, sexuality, race.... etc. They lack substance. This generation lacks skill, creativity, ability..... simply, they flat out suck dick. And that's why we NEED a new torchbearer.....
"The tide is turning.
Horizon's burning..."
Slowly? Change becomes clear. A New Horizon is upon us. And a coffin is begging for a nail to be driven in.
"Your days are numbered. Your Future has crumbled."
The mirror shatters. The shards pour down in a crystal clear, 3D, HD effect...before they begin to swirl as if they were being spun in a tornado. They then scatter, and appear to rain down upon a shadow-encased roof. Early morning. The dawning of a new day.
11:37pm. Tuesday, February 18, 2020 "The Awakening"
The camera slowly emerges upon a scene... the rooftop of an arena that soon would play host to another monumental episode of Warfare... live and in living color. He stood there, upon the roof's side, the camera a few feet away. He gazed over the edge, at the city below... Edinburgh, Scotland. Just another city, corrupted by greed, money, power, ego, jealousy and many people that think far too highly of themselves... and not highly enough of others. Much like the XWF of today..... He speaks. "...I've watched from the shadows for far too long. The past few months, I looked on. I was gone, but I KNEW...what was goin' on. Every step along my journey to a new beginning, I watched. Watching, from rooftops just like this one. Looking down from my perch, gazing upon a laptop at the action that transpired below. Just as I do tonight. But tomorrow night? I will not be content with merely being a spectator. No, for tomorrow..."
The figure then turns toward the camera. Eyes hidden behind a black and crimson mask. A gleaming spotlight flashes on, bathing him in golden rays. He steps forward, shadow still encompassing his features. He speaks... "Tomorrow? ....Tomorrow calls for ACTION. At CuntFest, I was humiliated by a goddamn CAR, but I rode into a fatal 4-way and cleaned house... I KNEW in my heart I would, and I did. 02...02...2020. Remember that?? The message I've sent over and over....."
"....of course, one would believe that the message, '020202020' is simple to decode; 02.02.2020 -- February 2nd.... which, of course, was a little over two weeks ago. Thing is.... the countdown has only just begun; "
"...Continue to try and decipher the impending demise of the XWF as you know it....the beginning of a revolution... A movement that will either save...or destroy... this company. It's all up to you, the fans, the wrestlers, management...."
......He brings out an old, worn-down pocket watch, dangling it in the air as it gleams in the moonlight. "...time only moves forward. How funny it is then, that this federation that prides itself for being so 'hardcore', 'creative' and 'original' is SOOO backward and lost. All of you rely on b.s. to get your points across..."
The figure glances up at the camera with a smirk. He pockets the antique watch, before pressing onward. "...but the time for bullshit is about to come to an end. My return was foretold in the stars. Not in some gossip rag, not some dirt sheet. They always twist the facts, ALWAYS get things wrong. Just like the lot of you... Never trust the words of small minds and closed hearts. XWF... I'm sure you believe you already have a good grasp on my identity. Good for you all. You believe you have me pegged down, that the man returning is the man that lost his head once again last time he was here..... but the truth, however? Is that when I return, I will be an entirely different man... as will those who align with me. When you speak down to me, is it your heart speaking...or a veil? A screen behind the mirror. A mask.... Only time will tell. But if you do believe in me, if you believe in us? If this IS the XWF I loved... the right people will be on board.... and the wrong? Well, as Eric Bischoff once said....... what were you thinking??"
The man rubs the back of his head..... "Thank you all. Some of us are slow learners. Some of us, slower than others. Myself included. But they say a tiger can't change his stripes? ...they're wrong. Thank you all for giving me a reason to change. Thank you ALL for pushing me to the brink of insanity, leaving me with no choice but to destroy the old me.... and to rebuild. To create a better me." With these words, he chuckles lightly to himself, before pacing a bit upon the rooftop. "For the past few months you've all witnessed a line of promos on the XWF Network. And by now, I'm hoping we're finally getting the message through. We are mighty, we are powerful, we ARE Legion, and we are here. Together, we will either destroy, or save the Xtreme Wrestling Federation. It's all up to you wonderful ladies and gentlemen. We told the world that we're coming to take over. And right here, right now? I make another announcement. Tomorrow night, LIVE, at Wednesday Night Warfare?? Right here in Scotland, in only a few hours, I will be standing nose to nose with the Masturbator of Minds, and I WILL DRIVE HIM STRAIGHT TO HELL!!!!."
The figure steps forth....
Red-X glares at the camera-- "Tomorrow night, it will be me, delievering unto you, Double M, a moment in the XWF that will never be forgotten...." He stops in his tracks, locking his eyes on the camera. "....and it'll only be the beginning. You will serve as the first of many bodies fallen at our feet....thank you." With that, he once again chuckles softly. He returns to pacing for a moment...... "XWF, you've made me out to be a joke, time and again. But at Warfare? The joke is on you, and we will not stop till you FEEL the punchline... smack dab in the middle of your ugly faces." He stops once more, setting his eyes dead-on with the camera. But this time, not a trace of sarcasm could be found. He glared, intently. Focused. Furious....
"This past Saturday, I lost to Viper, but it wasn't me that ate the pinfall, it was some joke named Zeebo, or Jimmy-Jam, I really don't remember which one of them bit it, I just know it wasn't me. All that matters is tomorrow night, I'm apparently facing a "new and improved" Mastermind..... I suppose that's supposed to leave me quaking in my boots. But in my eyes? You're still the same mid-card washout... I SHOULD have been main eventing this place years ago, but you people don't know true talent when you see it. These small-timers running around now, being treated like big-timers in a company that deserves better.... it's sickening. Dragging me into the role of curtain-jerker while rookies like Ned Gaye and Noah Zark get undeserved title shots.... but soon? I will receive the gifts and rewards I should have had long ago... Double M?? Step into the ring for WarFare and it will be the last time you EVER step into a wrestling ring....hell. It might be the last time you walk at all. Hopefully, for the sake of your career, you realize you don't belong facing a TRUE champion, and go back to fighting scum like Michael Archer Jr. Because, in the end? The result will be the same as it will be for anyone else that steps up to the X... Trust me."
Red walks further into the light of the moon... "When a man defends a title with honor, with respect, with pride? He proves to the WORLD that he deserves what he holds within his hands. He proves the doubters wrong, the haters... you prove the world wrong for denying you, and you prove you belong." He then breathed in heavily. Before letting out slowly... and continuing. "...the XWF is filled with joke contenders to joke champions, all under the watch of joke GMs and a joke of a Chairman. Hell, half of the damn roster is a JOKE. And that pretty much goes for my 'opponent' tonight... I am a man who strays from the norm. I am a man who is confident in who I am, and if I were you, MM? I'd watch my back.... cuz I'm CONFIDENT that tonight will forever change the course of the XWF....
"....I am stronger and more determined than you could ever hope to be. Warfare -- step up and try your luck. Toss the dice. Snake eyes. You're S.O.L....and you know what that means." He laughs once again to himself...before pacing a bit. "And then, we got March Madness. Boys and girls..." He stops pacing, and turns an eye to the camera. Face hidden behind a red 'X', but eyes that pierce through. Dead-locked. "...ladies and gentlemen. Let's pay a toast to the previous 'Queen' of the Ring herself, Sarah McLacklan. This chick is another joke in a field of many, willing to cast stones but not to have them cast back. This 'woman' climbed through round after round, finally picking up the crown, and what does she do? Does she go after the Universal title? No. The Hart or TV? Nope. Maybe even the Xtreme title? No way... she went after the title she KNEW she could actually win, and that is the Anarchy title, even lower on the ladder than the Federweight or HeavyMetalWeight. And ever since then, Anarchy has proven to the universe why it's the C-Show, for C-grade 'superstars'. With a C-grade 'ruler'....
"Sara... keep driving people bonkers with your bullshit, and watch as I shut you down too, along with all the other wastes of space in this company."
Red smirks just a tad...
"Let's set one thing straight. Let's make ONE THING, perfectly clear. Crystal clear. Despite what you may believe. Despite what you've been led to expect. The man behind this mask is not the one that that was ran into the ground before. The man that was dismantled, piece by piece, bit by bit? He is not the man that stands on this roof. He is NOT the man that will be in this arena, on this night, knocking MM off his high-horse.watching the show with ticket in hand before I CRUSH everyone on my pathway to the crown. Because this man? This man speaking to you right now? He's more than a man. In more ways than one. And this person, ME?... I will be praying to GOD that soon, the joke we call XWF, will find the desire to return to its glory days and KILL those that have brought it down, sending them sinking into the abyss. We will bring you all to your knees. Break you. HOBBLE you. Leave you torn assunder and strewn about...
"...because I have no other choice. And if I have to KILL to succeed??....
"...I will. Believe it."
He glares intently into the camera...before cracking a smile.
"I thank you all. For driving me. For pushing my buttons. For degrading me. Running me down...Why, you may ask?
"You reawoke me. I am a new person, and I am on the verge of sending a message to the whole GODDAMN roster. Body after body laying in pool after pool of blood. You underestimate me, you doubt me. You hold me down, while you raise inferiors like Robbie Bourbon to the top of the totem pole... The Truth is? You're all delusional. You are hell BENT on making me look like a fool, when YOU'RE the fools. Belittling me, making the world feel as if things will remain the same. You bank on false prophets to guide the XWF into a new decade, but the sad thing is... you're looking in the wrong place. I will not lay down and play dead, being happy just to be a part of the card. You think I'm joking, you think I'm wrong???
"Boys and girls...
You are sadly mistaken."
"People like me? We buck the stereotype. We do what it takes to be heard. By any means necessary. We ARE...The Voices of the Voiceless. I step between the ropes in the name of more than the person I see in the mirror... I battle in the name of a community. MY community. My people. OUR people. And tonight, we are more than words. More than protests and picket signs. More than disposable commodities. MORE...than flies in your web.
"We...are...ONE. And we will rise.
"In a world of bodybuilders, Hollywood-wannabes, supermodels and carbon copied plastic mannequins?"
"...We are the exception to the rule."
"XWF...You wanna play 'king' and reign over this business? We CARE about this business. The business that gave us hope in our youths. The business that made us Believe. When we do something for this industry, for this company? We do it for them. When we say something, we MEAN IT. And while people like Sarah Lacklan and Robbie Bourbon would sell their own mothers down the river if it'd mean one more title in their collecton? ...I wouldn't sell my soul for all the gold in Fort Knox..." He then began to inch closer and closer to the camera, his fierce gaze piercing the lens, as he glared through the red and black mask.
"My court is a roundtable of men and women who don't serve me. They don't serve Vinnie Lane, they don't serve Atticus or Shane . They serve this iNDUSTRY. You can think of us as you will, but know this. What we do? We do for YOUR own good. That's right, from top to bottom, we're doing what we do for YOUR own good. Because you don't know what's best for business. You THINK you do, you SAY you do. But you don't. We fight so that this business may persevere. We grew UP...on this business. We didn't have a THING handed to us, we grew up on streets just like those I stand above right now. We fought every day of our lives, scraped, clawed, busted our ASSES. And when we got home from school? We had to find a solace. We found wrestling, we found a world we could escape into and out of the hell we called reality.
"We fought Valiantly. We were Warriors. And we still are."
The figure paused for a moment, before turning his sight toward the night sky. The stars shone brightly upon him, illuminating his features and casting him in the light piercing through the dark... he gazes into the camera's lens...
"...Doubt us. Go on. Doubt us, overlook us, look DOWN on us. Spit on us, kick us aside, USE US. Tell us to play by YOUR rules, YOUR list of demands. Try to conform us. Try to confine us into your little box. Try to break us down and fit us into YOUR mold. Try to assimilate us, and when we refuse? Annihilate us, and cast us aside like garbage. Tell us how futile our battle is...
"TRY...and hold us down."
He then breathed in deep, once more...before letting it out.
"For if you do?
We...will...rise.
Beat us down,
Knock us to the ground?
And we will rise.
"BEG for us to pack our bags and go home.
We won't.
We. WILL. Rise.
Stack the odds against us,
Chew us up, spit us out,
Leave us for DEAD?"
As that last word left his mouth, the figure turned his eye sharply to the camera. Despite the mask, an unbridled fury visibly resided in his eyes. Red stared through a veil of darkness, directly into the camera...
"We.
Will.
Rise.
"Just call us The Iron Bank.
Because we WILL have our due.
...Bring an umbrella."
*STATIC*
This is the main frame
5...
From here survival is up to you
4...
Choose your decisions wisely
3....
Change starts with us
2....
Remember, if you don't stand for something? You might fall for anything, because...
1...
"His End.Is Where iBegin."
.....
"The preceding announcement has been brought to you by the letter 'X'..
Ladies and gentlemen of the Xtreme Wrestling Federation....
"It's Showtime."
“Some people are afraid of what they might find if they try to analyze themselves too much,
But you have to crawl into your wounds to discover where your fears are. Once the bleeding starts, the cleansing can begin.”
~ + ~
“It’s the Iron Bank. … You can’t run from them, you can’t cheat them, you can’t sway them with excuses.
"If you owe them money, and you don't want to crumble yourself? You pay them back.”
~ T¥WiN
C://_2.B.Continued
W: 1 // L: 8
learn, survive, believe & thrive...
...become the best & eat them alive.
'...what happens when the joke dies...'
Quote:When I was a little girl, my mother spoke of a prophecy, of a time when all the world would be covered in darkness and the fate of mankind would be decided. One night I finally got the courage to ask my mother, why God was so mad at His children.
'I don't know,'she said, tucking the covers around me,'I guess He just got tired of all the bullshit'
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. They serve this iNDUSTRY. You can think of us as you will, but know this. What we do? We do for YOUR own good. That's right, from top to bottom, we're doing what we do for YOUR own good. Because you don't know what's best for business. You THINK you do, you SAY you do. But you don't. We fight so that this business may persevere. We grew UP...on this business. We didn't have a THING handed to us, we grew up on streets just like those I stand above right now. We fought every day of our lives, scraped, clawed, busted our ASSES. And when we got home from school? We had to find a solace. We found wrestling, we found a world we could escape into and out of the hell we called reality.
