*** “Deus Irae” blares through the arena and The Camp make their way down to the ring, marching in two columns as the fans shower them with boos. The columns split and enter the ring on opposite sides, until all members of The Camp are in the ring, gathered in a circle. Damion Black steps into the center of the circle and calls for a microphone.***
BLACK: “Every time The Camp comes out to this ring, you unwashed imbeciles, you knuckle-dragging cretins prove my point. You have no sense of reverence, no respect for this sport. If you did, you would watch in silence every time we come out to this ring, whether it’s to compete or to address you! But I understand that you’re beyond all hope. I expect that of you, and so I will forge ahead and announce that tonight, The Viking will defend his NWC World Championship against-”
***Suddenly, Damion Black is cut off mid-sentence as the arena speakers erupt in the music of… The Wyld Family. Black looks around at ringside security and gestures at a ring attendant. He glares at the ramp… and after a moment, Alyssa Wyld steps from the entrance area. She stands on the stage with a microphone in hand as Damion Black’s expression changes from suspicion to one of veiled confidence. He takes a step back and raises a causal eyebrow at Wyld. On the ramp, Alyssa takes a moment to look around at the PWA Armada, before making her way down the aisle toward the ring.***
GARY BLOOMFIELD: “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s Alyssa Wyld! We haven’t seen her since the main event of PWA King of Deathmatch III. Word was that she had taken a personal leave of absence. But it looks like she’s back. A member of the Wyld Family is heading to the ring to confront Damion Black!”
***Alyssa reached the ring and ascends the ring steps. She ducks under the top rope and enters the ring. She’s dressed in jeans and a cobalt blazer and has her hair in a neat ponytail. She eyes Damion from across the ring. Black stands his ground, his face a neutral mask, not betraying any discernible emotion.***
BLOOMFIELD: “The last time we saw these two in the ring, they were fighting for the King of Deathmatch title. Two allies turned rivals for one of PWA’s most prestigious honors. And now they are face to face again for the first time since their titanic encounter.”
***Alyssa looks off at the crowd for a moment… then approaches Damion, microphone in hand.***
ALYSSA: “Damion.”
DAMION: “Alyssa.”
***A long, pregnant pause follows as the two stare at each other. Alyssa struggles for how to begin while Damion stares at her coolly.***
ALYSSA: “Look… Damion. I didn’t come out here to make some prepared speech. In fact… I’ve been struggling all week with what I was going to say to you when we were finally face to face.”
***Alyssa bites her lip and considers her words.***
ALYSSA: “Last season, I went into our temporary partnership prepared to hate it. I hated everything about you and what you meant to my family. But… against all odds, when it came down to our partnership, you played it straight with me. You treated me with respect, and over the course of the season, we worked together… and it was good. We complimented each other in the ring. We became a well-oiled tag-team and we built something to be proud of. You showed me trust, and I showed you respect. And because of that… we made it all the way to the finals of the King of Deathmatch. We did that together. I got to see a side of you that my brother never did. I got to see Damion Black as a a professional… as a teammate. Now, maybe we were never destined to be ‘friends’. Maybe there was too much history between my family and you for that to ever happen. But teaming together… I got to see the version of Damion Black that created PWA. The version of you that gave my daughter her first job. The version of you that respected this ring and the people who made their careers in it.”
***Alyssa stops and looks at Black… trying to glean some idea of what was going on in his head.***
ALYSSA: “I didn’t hate that version of Damion Black. I’ll even go one step further… I respected and UNDERSTOOD that version of Damion Black. Damion… you never stabbed me in the back. You never tried to hurt me. You were shown respect, and you gave it back in return. And… I guess that’s why I’m here right now. After King of Deathmatch, I needed to take some time away from PWA. To come so close to winning and to fall short at the last minute… was hard. I needed to take some time for myself and put it all in perspective. So I wasn’t here when you and The CAMP declared war on the PWA locker room. I wasn’t here when you took control of Assault and tried to bury the wrestlers who made this company great. But because of that… I had the chance to look at things from the outside. I had a chance to, maybe, see the whole picture. To try to imagine what you might be thinking and WHY you did what you did. The truth is… you had a lot of reasons to be angry with how PWA had evolved over the years. There were wrestlers who let you down, or stabbed you in the back. There was my brother Akira and the war you put each other through. From your point of view… maybe the well had been poisoned to the point that you didn’t think it could be saved.”
***Alyssa looks down at her feet, and then back up at Damion, who is still staring at her coolly.***
ALYSSA: “So maybe you had your reasons for doing what you did. Maybe you all did. But… that doesn’t make it right. I’m here tonight to appeal to the Damion Black that I got to know over the last season. The Damion Black that gave me respect in exchange for respect. The Damion Black that decided that I was worth investing in, and that showed me that he was worth giving the benefit of the doubt to. Damion… please stop this. I think the whole world can see what you want. You want people to respect this ring and the hard working people who have dedicated their lives to their this sacred SPORT. You want the people who work for you to acknowledge what you mean to this industry and to understand the hard work and tradition that this world is built on. Damion… you needed to show the world what wrestling meant to you… and you did it. You lit a fire in the heart of every wrestler under the PWA banner. You put millions of eyes on Assault and Battery and people who had tuned out started paying attention. You did that.”
***The crowd starts to cheer. Black side-eyes the PWA Armada before looking back at Alyssa.***
ALYSSA: “And now that you’ve done this… I think it’s time to stop this war. You’ve done more good than bad here… and that’s damn impressive. If you can just… let go of your anger and your ego for a minute… you can step back and see what GOOD you’ve accomplished with your mission. I’m asking you as a tag-team partner… please end this before more people get hurt. Be that force that can unify PWA once and for all. I know you have it in you.”
***Alyssa lowers her microphone and looks at Black. A long moment passes. And then Damion smiles and gives the slightest nod. He looks from Alyssa to the PWA Armada and really seems to see them for the first time. They cheer. Their voices raise to an arena shaking crescendo before tapering off. Black takes a deep breath and turns back to Alyssa. He raises his microphone to speak.***
BLACK: “Alyssa… let me begin be expressing my appreciation to you for coming out here alone and addressing me one-on-one. You stepped into the lions’ den unafraid and you made a heartfelt appeal. That takes guts, and you have shown that you have more guts than anyone else back in that locker room. And for that, I gave you then benefit of the doubt. I listened to everything you had to say, that I’ve done a great service to PWA, that I have brought respect to our sport, and that The Camp should stop their crusade because we have achieved our goal.
“But something you said… troubles me. You spoke to me as my… tag team partner. Let’s examine that, shall we? I am affiliated with The Camp, the cream of the crop, the very finest athletes in pro wrestling today. In order to be my partner, you have to be worthy of The Camp. So, let’s take a look at your credentials. You are the daughter of one of the most legendary wrestlers ever to step in a wrestling ring, Grecco Wyld. You are the twin sister of two-time NWC World Champion and current PWA Heavyweight Champion, Akira Wyld. You are… you have done…. I know there’s something else, give me a moment…”
*** Brawler Beckett steps forward and whispers something to Damion. ***
BLACK: “Oh yes, thank you Mr. Beckett! Alyssa Wyld, at King of Deathmatch III you fought your way to finals and became… the King of Deathmatch… Runner… Up…”
*** Black sneers this statement out as the crowd boos intensely. Alyssa’s face darkens and she looks down at the ring. Black smiles a wicked grin. ***
BLACK: “I’m sorry, Alyssa, but it appears your ‘credentials’, such as they are, simply don’t measure up to The Camp’s standards. There is no place for you within the ranks he Camp, which means there is no place for you by my side as a tag team partner or anything else! In fact, after 2 decades in this sport? 3 decades? You don’t have one championship, one accomplishment to your name! Maybe professional wrestling doesn’t have a place in its ranks for you! Maybe your place is at home taking care of your crippled husband and your punk kid daughter!”
*** Alyssa’s eyes blaze and she suddenly looks up eye to eye to with Damion! Alyssa rears back and strikes Damion with an open palm to his cheek, spinning Damion around and dropping him to a knee! Immediately, The Spoiler III and The Masked Shooter II rush to Alyssa and each grab an arm as Alyssa struggles to continue her attack! ***
BLACK: “No, no, STOP!”
*** Black gets back to his feet to face the struggling Alyssa, his face bearing a dark hand print where Alyssa struck him. Black smooths his hair back, straightens his tie, and brings the microphone back to his lips. ***
BLACK: “Let her go. She’s harmless. That was all she had left.”
*** Spoiler and Shooter release Alyssa. Alyssa shakes with rage and shame, staring at Damion with a pained and angry expression. Alyssa backs up and steps through the ropes, exits the ring, and walks back up the aisle. ***