The Sokolov Challenge...

[Quillz]

***The monochrome-colored scene opens in the backstage halls of an unidentified sports arena. The camera tracks slowly down the labyrinthine passageway as the sound of a pair of methodically-paced footsteps keep time. As the camera advances down the hallway, a collection of audio clips from PWA Assault can be heard.***


<GEORGE PRESCOTT: “Make no mistake boys, this man, this monster, Victor Sokolov cannot be stopped.”>

<JOHNNY ECKS: “Yo mang, you put up an open challenge, Johnny Ecks is gonna make you regret it!”>

<GARY BLOOMFIELD: “Ladies and gentlemen this is just pure carnage! Victor Sokolov is a man possessed!”>

<AKIRA WYLD: “I will show the world that Victor Sokolov is no match for the Surgical Specialist!”>

<RONNIE STOCKHOLM: “With every victory, Sokolov gets more and more dominant!”>

<THE FACTOR: “Every man has a weakness, nobody is invincible.”>

<PRESCOTT: “You line em’ up, and he will knock em’ down. This is Victor Sokolov’s world… and we are all just living in it.”>

<BLOOMFIELD: “Dominator! Dominator! For the love of… he’s broken him in HALF!”>


***The footsteps stop, and the camera swivels around to reveal a pair of wrestling boots.***


<STOCKHOLM: “Every wrestler that has stepped up and challenged Victor Sokolov has left the ring beaten and bloodied. Johnny Ecks, Akira Wyld, The Factor, Alex Prime, Robert MacElroy… no one has risen to the challenge.”>

<BLOOMFIELD: “I’m telling you Ronnie, it’s getting to the point where it’s not a question of ‘WHO’ will be the one to finally take Sokolov down… the real question is, will ANYONE ever beat the Siberian Psychopath?” >


***The camera pans up to reveal a figure clad in a monogramed cobalt track suit. A white towel hangs around his neck. A streak of silver hair hangs over his eyes. REBEL WYLD takes a deep breath and looks fiercely into the camera.***


REBEL WYLD: “All season, I’ve watched the most dangerous man in professional wrestling beat the PWA Heavyweight division into the ground. For SIX WEEKS, Victor Sokolov has challenged any man in the locker room to step up and take on his Heavyweight Championship open challenge. The top competitors in PWA have answered, entering the ring and going toe-to-toe with a competitor who is more monster than man.”


***Rebel glances to his left as the hall echoes with the sounds of bone-breaking carnage.***


<BLOOMFIELD: “He’s not stopping! Week in and week out, Victor Sokolov is staining the ring with the blood of his victims!”>

REBEL: “I helped the EMTs load Johnny Ecks into the back of an ambulance. His eyes were both swelled shut. I watched my own brother collapse backstage from blood-loss after being savaged for nearly twenty minutes by a monster who could not be put down.”


***Rebel rubs his wrist tape and looks down, deep in thought.***


REBEL: “I knew PWA was in trouble all the way back at Warfare. When I watched Victor Sokolov stand toe-to-toe with three of the most brutal heavyweights in wrestling history… when I watched him smile through bloodied teeth as he shrugged off an Unkindest Cut like it was nothing… when I watched him ascend to the top rope with the PWA Heavyweight belt clutched in his hands… when I saw him stare out at the PWA Armada, not like a conquering champion, but like a predator, eyeing its next prey.”


***Rebel nods and looks back up at the camera.***


REBEL: “I knew it then, and I know it now… Victor Sokolv would never stop. No victory would satisfy him. No championship would give him the pause. To Victor Sokolov, the PWA Championship… the iNCW Championship… these accolades are not prizes. They are merely bait he uses to attract his next victim.”


***Rebel begins walking down the hall. The camera tracks with him as he throws phantom punches at the air.***


REBEL: “At first, I thought that George Prescott was a genius. I thought that he had found a way to play to Sokolov’s greatest strengths, and hide his weaknesses. The Sokolov Open Challenge allowed the Siberian Psychopath to take on unprepared opponents… wrestlers so blinded by a championship opportunity that they would forego weeks of preparation for an impulsive shot at taking down the white whale. And all the while, Sokolov would never have to defend his title under the confines of a true two-out-of-three-falls match. I THOUGHT that this was all a cleverly laid out gameplan by a master manipulator.”


***Rebel stops and his forehead creases in concentration.***


REBEL: “But… as the weeks passed, I began to realize something. This isn’t a brilliant plan by an experienced manager. This… is a survival strategy. Prescott is no different than anyone who is holding the leash of a barely contained wild animal. The Sokolov Challenge isn’t there to protect the champion. The Sokolov Challenge is there because Victor Sokolov can’t exist any other way. Victor Sokolov needs to feed… the same as any great white or tiger. If he doesn’t have fresh meat… he will turn on anyone in arm’s reach… including his handler. I’ve looked into that monster’s eyes… and believe me when I say that there is NO master strategy there. There is no higher order… there is only instinct, and destruction, and the primal need to cause pain and misery.”


***Rebel looks up and stares into the camera.***


REBEL: “And that right there… that is how I know that Victor Sokolov can be beaten. Sokolov is a force of nature… but any force of nature can be curbed. I’ve watched Sokolov wrestle for his entire career. I’ve seen him at his strongest… and I’ve seen him struggle. Victor Sokolov HAS a weakness… and that is that he CANNOT deviate from his determined path of destruction. He cannot adapt to new situations. He cannot change gears when the situation calls for it. Victor Sokolov has been the best for as long as he has, because people try to beat him using their strengths… all the while, failing to capitalize on Sokolov’s natural limitations.”


***Rebel points down the hall toward the arena entrance.***


REBEL: “Just last week, we almost saw history made. Victor Sokolov came within a hair’s breadth of being beaten by Robert MacElroy. MacElroy did two things during his fight with Sokolov. First, he weathered the storm. Every blow Sokolov landed, Mac got up from. Every ounce of aggression the Siberian Psychopath threw at MacElroy, he absorbed. The Hard Man never said die. Second… he wore Sokolov down. He relentlessly attacked Sokolov for nearly a half hour. He never gave him a chance to catch his breath… and that’s where I saw the armor crack. Victor Sokolov was winded… he was sucking for oxygen… and yet he kept attacking. He didn’t change direction… he didn’t stop to breathe… he didn’t conserve energy. Victor Sokolov has only one gear… and that is how you beat him.”


***Rebel points a thumb up at his chest.***


REBEL: “That… is how *I* beat him. For six seasons, I’ve tested the measure of every heavyweight in this company. I’ve fought the strongest, the fastest, the most experienced men on this roster. I haven’t won every fight I’ve been in… but I’ve LEARNED something from every encounter. I know what it takes to bring down the strongest behemoth in the game. I have the strength, the skill, and the experience to defeat any wrestler in the world. And unlike the rest of the men who’ve answered the Sokolov Challenge… I’m not coming in unprepared. For six weeks, I have done NOTHING but prepare myself to take on the Siberian Psychopath. I’ve watched tape, I’ve trained, I’ve spoken to each and every man he has fought. And I’m ready. So George Prescott… Victor Sokolov… I accept your challenge. I want to fight you at PWA Assault… and no matter how much fire and intensity and raw animal strength you bring to the ring… I will win. Because I’m not an animal… I’m a ‘wrestler’. When I enter that ring, I’m bringing with me twenty years of experience against the best of the best of the best all around the world. You think you’ve got what it takes to beat anyone foolish enough to step in the ring with you. But whether you realize it or not… I have you scouted. And I don’t mind telling you that. Because… you don’t have the ability to change your gameplan. You are set in stone. An obstacle. A known quantity. You are what you are… and we’ve all seen what you can do. Me, on the other hand… you haven’t seen anything yet.”


***Rebel Wyld stares intensely at the camera… then steps beyond it and out of frame, continuing down the hall. His footsteps echo off into the distance as the screen fades to black.***

[Gary Bloomfield]

*** Terry Schneider is standing by with George Prescott, III. ***

TS: "George Prescott, Rebel Wyld has declared that he will take up Viktor Sokolov's open challenge this Thursday on Assault. Do you have any thoughts on this latest challenger?

*** Before Prescott can respond, Marty Dinkle and Spoiler III walk into camera frame. ***

MD: "Mr. Prescott, my man here and I want to extend to you an apology. Your title run is yours, and a grand thing, and I want to assure you that my man's actions were completely focused on that backstabber MacElroy, and- well, you tell 'em, Spoiler."

S3: "All due respect to Viktor Sokolov, I did what I had to do. Robert MacElroy paid for his insolent refusal of Marty Dinkle's services. As far as I'm concerned, that dress-wearin' pantywaist is ancient history, so let's move on to more pressing matters, namely the Viktor Sokolov Open Challenge! You see, myself and Mr. Dinkle were on our way here to formally accept the open challenge with you, Mr. Prescott, face-to-face, like good faith businessmen. Then, I get word that Rebel Wyld has already declared that he's the next in line! Rebel Wyld, what claim do you have? What right? Who have you beaten, huh? Spencer Watts, a man not even in the same weight division as you! Alex Prime, who was still recovering from his match with the Heavyweight champion! Rhett Holiday, a man who's blown more shots at the Heavyweight title that most wrestlers have had chances! This is the resume your bringing to the table? Well, let me tell you MY resume! I've been dismantling opponents since I've been in PWA! My record speaks for itself! In fact, if you listen to my record, it will tell you that I kicked YOUR ass on Battery, and then your own brother Akira, a man you have NEVER beaten in the ring, I made getting a victory over him look like child's play! The fact is if you ask anyone who's next in line for the Sokolov Open Challenge, you will hear one name: The Spoiler! You don't deserve this shot, Rebel Wyld, I do, and I'm taking it! Get on the sidelines with the rest of the pansies and watch a couple of REAL MEN square off for the biggest prize in our sport!"

GP3: "Mr. Spoiler, Mr. Dinkle, if I may... Now, your credentials are most impressive, Mr. Spoiler, and I can say without a doubt that Viktor Sokolov would be downright honored to face you in the ring come Assault. However, Rebel Wyld did make his claim before you did. Far be it from me to turn away such illustrious competition as yourself, so let me propose a solution to this little conflict. This Thursday, I propose that The Spoiler III meets Rebel Wyld in the main event, one-on-one, and the winner will have his opportunity at the Viktor Sokolov Open Challenge!"

S3: "I'll take an opportunity to earn my shot at the championship! Rebel Wyld, book yourself a room at the hospital! At Assault, your ass is mine!"

[Quillz]

***The scene opens on a backstage set where Rebel Wyld stands with Ronnie Stockholm and a PWA camera crew.***

RONNIE STOCKHOLM: “Rebel Wyld, just hours ago you officially accepted the Sokolov Challenge, and agreed to fight Victor Sokolov for an opportunity at his Heavyweight title. That match would have presumably happened at next week’s upcoming PWA Assault. But as we just heard, The Spoiler III has contested your right to a title shot. In his words, you do not deserve to be the next in line, and in-fact, HE wants to be the next to face the Siberian Psychopath for a championship opportunity. George Prescott has now suggested that you and Spoiler face off at Assault to determine who will be the next to face the Heavyweight Champion. What are your thoughts on this unexpected development?”

***Rebel Wyld takes a moment to collect his thoughts.***

REBEL WYLD: “Victor Sokolov is a single-minded force of nature. The Spoiler III, on the other hand... is something else entirely. Everything Spoiler does is in the service of personal fortune and glory. He picks his shots carefully... only stepping into situations where he has an advantage... and where he knows he has more to gain than he has to lose. His association with Marty Dinkle and D.I.E., his attack on Robert MacElroy... he picks moments and opponents that offer him the maximum yield and the minimum risk. And now he wants to fight me.”

***Rebel nods and takes the microphone from Stockholm.***

REBEL: “Because make no mistake... it’s me he’s after in this equation, not Sokolov. He waited until the right challenger arrived before making his intentions known. He didn’t go after Sokolov directly... he didn’t challange Ecks or Akira or Prime for their spots. He did what he always did. He bided his time and waited until the right moment. He challenged me... because he thinks he can beat me. Whatever plans he has for Sokolov and the PWA Championship... those plans come later. What he wants now is another reputation building win over an easy opponent. Something to cement his name as a top contender. To prove his value as a blue-chip signee to D.I.E. And in Spoiler’s mind... the easiest way to do that goes through me.”

***Rebel turns to the camera and frowns.***

REBEL: “Spoiler, I accept your challenge. I’ve never backed away from a fight in my life, and I’m not starting now. If I can’t beat you, then I don’t deserve a shot at Sokolov or his title. But you know what? The truth is that I CAN beat you. Earlier this season you had my number at PWA Battery. But every time I fight I get stronger. I learn from my mistakes. And whether you realized it or not... I was looking for an opportunity to face you again to show you what I’ve learned. I’ve never felt more ready for a challenge in my life, and if I have to put your self-serving ego in check to achieve my goal then all the better. I’m at my best when my opponents sleep on me, so by all means, make the mistake of underestimating Rebel Wyld. And once I’ve made you tap out in the middle of the ring, the world will see that Rebel Wyld has what it takes to fight for the biggest prize in the company.”

***Rebel hands Stockholm the microphone and walks away as the scene fades to black.***