*“Mr. Boombastic” starts playing, and Kevin Starr, mic in hand and unusually focused, paces to the ring*
STARR: “Now, I’ve heard some talk about MacElroy and me having a match next week. Well I’m here to shed some light on that: There was no match last week! There was supposed to be a match, but there wasn’t one! Instead, I was attacked by an impatient thug throwing a tantrum, and because of that, Lance Steamer was robbed of the title shot he… deserved.
“But! As I am a good, fighting champion, I have decided to give Lance another chance! And hopefully this time we won’t have any-“
*Starr is interrupted by the strains of “Scream” blaring over the house speakers. Out to the top of the ramp steps Robert Mac Elroy, dressed in street clothes and a confident smirk. He has no mic; he simply stands amid the cheers of the fans and watches Starr.*
STARR: “Woah woah woah! Mac, what the hell are you doing out here?! Look, I’ve told you again and again, you’re not getting another shot right now, and every time you do this, you get pushed further and further down the list! At this point, there are guys from INCW *spit* who’ll get a shot before you!”
*Starr is interrupted by Mac signaling to the camera. Suddenly, the jumbo-tron shows …
STARR: “NOBODY LOOK AT THAT! THAT NEVER HAPPENED! I don’t know where you got this footage, but that never happened!”
*Mac signals again, and once more the jumbo-tron fires up …*
STARR: “CUT IT OFF! CUT IT OFF! I don’t know where you got this DOCTORED FOOTAGE, but you can forget about EVER getting another shot at my title! If I didn’t have a match tonight, I’d come up there and take care of you myself!”
*Mac spreads his arms, inviting Starr to put his money where his mouth is, but when Lance Steamer’s music hits, he heads up the ramp, meeting the challenger half-way. Mac shakes Steamer’s hand and wishes him luck before heading back to the locker room. Steamer climbs into the ring with Kevin Starr, who is fuming …*
*As Kevin Starr’s music still echoes over the arena speakers, a beaten and out of breath Lance Steamer sits on the apron, leaning against the side of the ring. The other players have exited the arena and the ring crew is wiping down the turnbuckles in preparation for the next match. The camera cuts to Steamers just long enough to see him wipe his brow with his forearm and take a weary glance around the arena. After a moment he pulls himself to his feet and begins the lonely walk back toward the backstage area. As he makes his way up the aisle, the arena speakers kick in and Anthrax’s “Monster at the End” explodes over the PA system. Akira Wyld and Brawler Beckett make their way down the ramp toward the ring.*
BLOOMFIELD: “Well this is unexpected. Folks, it looks as if Akira Wyld and Brawler Beckett have come down to ringside. I’m looking at my schedule and I’m not seeing anything here… but really when do these two ever operate on anyone’s schedule but their own?”
*As the two brush past Steamer, Wyld shoulder checks him and sends him stumbling slightly into the guardrail. Wyld pretends not to notice, but Beckett stifles a chuckle as he walks by, dressed smartly in a charcoal grey suit. Steamer shoots them an irritated look, but then shakes his head and heads back up the ramp. After a few more steps, Wyld stops and cocks an eyebrow. He turns and beckons toward Beckett and whispers something in his ear. Beckett smiles and nods. Wyld slaps Beckett on the shoulder and turns toward Steamer. He walks briskly toward him and grabs him by the forearm. Steamer starts at Wyld and raises a hand to defend himself. Beckett quickly jogs up between them and puts both up his hands in a supplicating gesture toward Steamer.*
BLOOMFIELD: “Folks, it looked for a second as if Wyld was going to attack Lance Steamer, but… now it appears as if Brawler Beckett and Akira Wyld are… inviting Steamer back into the ring. I don’t know what’s going on here ladies and gentlemen. Knowing these two… it’s not likely to be anything good.”
*Beckett gestures for Steamer to follow them and the three men make their way to the ring. Wyld rolls in first and calls for a microphone. Steamer cautiously walks up the steps, followed by Beckett who has a hand on his shoulder. Wyld paces back and forth in the ring for a moment… and then raises his microphone to speak.*
WYLD: “Ladies and gentlemen… a round of applause for Lance Steamer!”
*Brawler Beckett claps enthusiastically and nods at a confused looking Steamer. The perplexed crowd is mostly silent.*
WYLD: “Lance… I’m sorry to hijack your moment here… but Bartholomew and I just HAD to come down here and pay some respect to the herculean effort you just put forth in your match. Last week, when we heard that you were named the number one contender to Kevin Starr’s PWA Heavyweight Title… I’ve got to admit, we were a little perplexed. I mean, no disrespect to you and your STELLAR career path… but honestly… you didn’t exactly set the world on fire during the first season of PWA.”
*Wyld turns to Beckett, who wrinkles his nose and tilts his hand back and forth, while giving Steamer an apologetic look.*
WYLD: “But you know… the more we thought about it… the more we realized that you ABSOLUTELY deserved that opportunity. I mean… you’re a traveled journeyman with more than a decade of experience in organizations all over the world. For YEARS you’ve fought and scraped, and suffered to earn that one great shot at glory. You absolutely earned that shot. And then what happened? That SNAKE Damion Black pulled the rug right out from under you and allowed that over-hyped highland has-been Robert MacElroy to take your place. You were screwed out of your rightful place in history because DAMION BLACK couldn’t book a proper wrestling show. Now granted… you WERE given a make good shot tonight at the title and you completely whiffed it… but hey, I know better than ANYONE that once Black gets in your head, it can be hell to get back on your feet and try to compete at a top level again. It’s not YOUR fault you lost tonight Lance. It’s Damion Black’s fault. Why don’t you tell all these people what a joke of a boss Damion Black is, and how you’re sick and tired of the way he’s ruining your career and running this promotion into the ground!”
*Steamer looks suspiciously at Wyld… and takes the microphone out of his hand. He turns to look at Beckett, and then lowers his eyes and takes a deep breath.*
STEAMER: “You know… I’ve been wrestling in promotions all around the world for nearly sixteen years. I’ve jerked the curtain… I’ve headlined shows… I’ve even held a championship or two. If I’m being honest… yeah, my best years are probably behind me. And yeah, last week, when I was given that title shot, only to have it snatched away… it hurt. It’s hard to be the low man on the totem pole. It’s hard to go out there week in and week out and see a promising career slowly chipped away at and broken down. And yeah, I guess you could say I AM sick and tired of a lot of things…”
*He turns to Wyld and goes forehead to forehead with the Surgical Specialist.*
STEAMER: “And what I’m sick and tired of MOST OF ALL, is your whiny, entitled, silver-spoon-fed mouth bitching and moaning about being treated unfairly!”
*Wyld and Beckett exchange a shocked look as Steamer turns to the crowd, fired up and angry.*
STEAMER: “I’m PROUD to be a member of the greatest roster in all of wrestling! PWA gave me a chance when other big, international promotions said I was over the hill and past my prime! And yeah, maybe I didn’t get my shot last week, but I’ve been around long enough to know when a joke is being made at my expense. Starr picked me because to him I was an easy win. He picked me because he was hiding from MacElroy. And God bless him, even though he knew I didn’t deserve a title shot, Damion Black made good on that contract and gave me an opportunity anyway! And yeah I lost… I took one on the chin and I ended up counting the lights. It’s not the first time I’ve been knocked down and it won’t be the last! I’m a fighter Wyld… and I don’t cry when the chips don’t land my way. I get back up! You used to know that! So get out of my face with your whining and your conspiracy theories!”
*Steamer turns to Beckett and points.*
STEAMER: “And YOU! What the hell are you even DOING here?! You lost your career FAIR and SQUARE at Rise of Kings! You’re nothing but a dirty snake, just slithering your way back into an organization where you couldn’t CUT IT!”
BECKETT: “How DARE you address me like this you-“
*Wyld grabs Steamer by the shoulder and spins him around hard.*
WYLD: “Just who the HELL do you think you are?! You have the stones to talk to two, blue-chip, main event talents like us that way? I was out here to HELP you Steamer! I was out here to give you a platform… a golden ticket to tell the world how Damion Black has used and abused you! You could have had a friend you no-talent ham-and-egger! You could have had an ADVOCATE! You could have been an agent of CHANGE in a corrupt system. And now… now you’ve given us no choice. Now you’re going to have to be another EXAMPLE of what happens when you cross us!”
*Wyld rears back his fist and takes a swing at Steamer, who cuts off his punch with a forearm and jacks Wyld right in the jaw, dropping him to the ground. Beckett grabs Steamer from behind around the waist and tackles him to the ground. Wyld gets up and checks his mouth for blood before spitting to the ground and marching over and putting the boots to Steamer.*
WYLD: “You’re DONE here you piece of dirt! You’re FINISHED! NOBODY insults us like that! Especially not a WORTHLESS never-was like you!”
*Beckett drags Steamer to his feet and holds him, bloodied and bruised up in a half-nelson. Akira throws down his microphone and paces a circle around the ring, before diving in and delivering a vicious Akira-Kick to Steamer’s jaw.*
BLOOMFIELD: “Oh no folks, this is just awful. This… this is a despicable display by two black-hearted individuals who want nothing more than to take PWA apart piece by piece. Somebody needs to get out here right now and put a stop to this.”
*Suddenly, the audience rises to their feet and looks toward the entrance ramp. The crowd explodes as Richard Pennyworth III, dressed in street clothes, runs down the ramp and rolls into the ring. Wyld jumps to his feet, but Pennyworth drives a devastating knee to his jaw, sending him careening into the turnbuckle. Pennyworth whips around and advances on Beckett, who puts up his hands as Pennyworth backs him into a corner.*
BECKETT: “Now, sir, just a moment! Let us allow cooler heads to prevail-!”
*Pennyworth whips Beckett in a circle by his lapels and tosses him over the top rope. Behind him, Akira Wyld has recovered and begins stalking an unsuspecting Pennyworth, clearly setting up for another Akira Kick… which he slides in and attempts to deliver. But Pennyworth, a step ahead, ducks under it and cinches Wyld under the armpit and spins him into a Money Clip in the center of the ring. Wyld begins tapping furiously, but Pennyworth won’t let go. Finally, Brawler Beckett jumps up to the apron and grabs Wyld’s wrist, forcibly pulling him out of the ring and breaking Pennyworth’s hold. Beckett straightens his tie and hoists Wyld to his feet. The two heels back up the ramp, cursing at Pennyworth in the ring. Pennyworth adopts a fists-up stance in the center of the ring as the heels make their way up the ramp. After a few moment, Pennyworth reaches down and helps a battered Lance Steamer to his feet. The two shake hands as the crowd stands and shows its respect to the battered journeyman.*
BLOOMFIELD: “My goodness folks, I don’t know what to say. Thank God Richard Pennyworth was in the building. Somebody needs to shut Wyld and Beckett down before they end up doing serious damage. Stay tuned folks, we’ll have more Assault for you right after this break!”