**The boisterous crowd of the PWA faithful is in a massive full-throated roar as Assault goes love. The cheers almost immediately turn into a torrent of booing and jeers as “Charisma” blasts through the arena. Damion Black, resplendent in a custom-made Armani suit, hair in a perfect tail, appears on the ramp. His eyes are hidden by the ever-present sunglasses, while his trademark smirking smile is in full display. Black walks calmly to the ring, barely looking at the crowd. Damion walks up the stairs at ringside and climbs through the ropes. He pauses, looking up at the crowd as they continue to boo vociferously. Damion calls for a microphone. Microphone now on hand, he brings it up to address the crowd, who immediately attempt to drown him out by booing even louder. Damion stops, calmly and slowly removes his glasses and places them in breast pocket of his coat, and attempts to speak again. Again, the crowd’s volume swells to prevent the hated PWA owner from speaking. Damion looks slightly annoyed.**
BLACK: “You know, I own this building and everything in it. I own this ring, I own the employees, I own that locker room, I own the security. So believe me when I tell you that if the noise level does not come down, I will have my security team escort each and every one of you out of my building.”
**Chants of “Asshole! Asshole! Asshole!” spread through the crowd.**
BLACK : “Ladies and ge- nevermind, I don’t see any here. Plebeians, tonight marks the beginning of the PWA 6-Man tournament to crown the first ever PWA 6-Man Tag Team Champions. Twelve teams of three members each have split up into two groups. Each group of six teams will compete in a round-robin format. At the end of the season, the winners of each group will compete in one final match to determine PWA’s first 6-Man champions.
“Most of you know all about the other eleven teams competing, so the big question on everyone’s mind, ‘Who is the twelfth team?'” You may have also noticed that there are some very noteworthy names who are not yet on a team for this tournament. Well, allow me to alleviate your natural curiosity. You see, I have hand-picked this twelfth team personally and I have all the confidence in the world that this team will be the team to beat and, no disrespect to the rest of the competition, may well go undefeated all the way to the finals. ‘Who’, your tiny minds must be wondering, ‘who could he be talking about?’ Allow me to introduce you. Let’s start off with the team captain. He is feared, revered, and respected by all, and is noted by many to be the most prolific professional wrestler the world has ever known. Yes, who else could I be referring to? Of course, I am referring to myself!”
**The crowd’s booing intensifies.**
BLACK: “And now I can see the smoke coming from your collective ears as your insufficient brains work themselves in a frenzy! ‘Who could possibly be worthy to stand shoulder to shoulder with the incomparable Damion Black?’ Indeed, those who I can confidently call my peers in the ring are few and far between. Nevertheless, I have reached out with my considerable wealth and influence and found not one, but TWO such men! The first man you know very well, and it should come as no surprise that when I sought excellence, tenacity, competitiveness and ability, this man was naturally the first who came to my mind. I am very proud to introduce my first partner, the single greatest light heavyweight in PWA, Bartholomew ‘Brawler’ Beckett!”
***BARTHOLOMEW “BRAWLER” BECKETT steps out to the pounding groove of Clutch’s Subtle Hustle. He is dressed in a sharp, dark purple three-piece suit with a green silk cravat and a mic in hand. As the crowd bombards him with boos and trash, Beckett stops for a moment and spreads his arms, basking in the crowd’s hatred.
When he gets into the ring and steps up next to Black, the two men shake hands. Beckett then turns to the fans as if he is being cheered … which he is not.***
BECKETT: “You lot look surprised! Shocked! You all look so … disappointed.
“How bloody marvelous!
“You know, since my title was stolen from me by a masked man with a handful of tights-”
***The crowd roars and begins cheering back and forth, “El Pantaro!” “Let’s go Snow!” “El Pantaro!” “Let’s go, Snow!” Beckett’s smile tightens, but he forebears until they settle down enough for him to continue.***
“As I was saying, since my Light Heavyweight title was usurped, many of you had hope that I would leave PWA. However, as you can clearly see, not only am I still here, I am still in the company of a fellow champion. Rest assured, my loves, this is not the unjust end, but the beginning of my Hero’s Journey … and you will all bear witness to my continued glory!
“You’re all welcome.”
BLACK: “You know, Mr. Beckett, we still have one more name to name before our team is complete. Do you like surprises?”
BECKETT: “I love surprises, Mr. Black. Just ask El Pantaro.” ***Beckett grins villainously as the crowd makes clear their displeasure.***
BLACK: “I love surprises, myself, especially surprises of such magnitude as this! I have kept this secret to myself until tonight. As I have said, I have found not one but two men to team with, two men who are worthy and this second man is no exception. He is in every way my equal, in terms of ability and physical prowess. He has attained unparalleled success in both the wrestling ring and Hollywood screen. Everything this man touches turns to gold, whether it be championship belts or box office records! He is a once in a lifetime athlete, a once in a lifetime performer, a god among mortals! Yes, even I’m a little jealous. Please welcome my teammate, and my friend, the one and only….. Captain Hollywood, ALEX PRIIIIME!”
***The lights go down throughout the arena with the exception of a single spotlight focused on the ramp entrance. “Ante Up” by M.O.P. blares through the arena speakers as Alex Prime, resplendent in a tailor-made suit steps the curtain and into the spotlight. As Prime casually makes his way to the ring, the lights come back up and fans are cheering him and seeking his attention. Prime makes a point of staying out the fans’ reach, with a look of arrogant distaste on his face. Prime stops near the fans and one of them reaches out and touches his suit. Prime looks disgusted and appalled. He wipes off where the fan touched him. Then wipes that hand on his pants. Then shakes his leg trying to get rid of the stench of the fan that touched him. He reaches the steps and enters the ring, shaking hands with Brawler Beckett and then Damion Black before taking the microphone.***
Prime: “Never say never, right? Ladies and… well Damion said it earlier… the past, the present and the future — The Number One Draw in this industry — Alex Prime is back!
Prime: “I can tell by you all’s reaction that you are definitely surprised. I mean, I’m surprised myself. I’m surprised my good friend Damion Black would welcome me back to this industry and to the PWA under such a momentous occasion only for it to be in front of you cockroaches in this building. Especially that guy in the front row.”
**Prime points at a fan**
Prime: “But I’m a forgiving man, and I forgive my good friend Damion because he reached out to me. He reached out to his brother because needed a friend. He needed family. He needed a team. He needed a league. So I looked down from my very expensive ivory tower and I looked upon this industry that Damion and I DEFINED and essentially built. I looked at the landscape of PWA and I decided not only did my friend need me, this business needed me.
Prime: “So here I stand, in this ring in this fantastic building that Damion built while I was away. The only drawback being since we are in the money-making business, anyone, like this Special Olympian in the front row, can pay to get in. So we happily accept his money, I just hate I can never wear this $1200 shirt again because that guy has been within 100 feet of it.
Prime: “I mentioned that Damion needed a league. He needs one in order to restore the hierarchy here. See, Damion, Mr. Beckett and myself are up here among the 1 Per — sorry, the PRIVILEGED of this society and this industry. Damion and I have done everything this business has to offer. We’ve been CHAMPIONS everywhere we stepped foot. So Damion needed a team. He needed a league. Mr. Beckett and I responded by joining Damion and this tournament with a name fitting of us. We enter the six-man championship tournament as — The Champions League! And as always, no matter the time or place, when we step in the ring, love us or hate us because you ain’t us — ask everyone who the hell they’ve come to see!”
BLACK: “We are putting this tournament and everyone involved on notice: our inevitable victory is a forgone conclusion, and this tournament is a mere formality necessary to crown those who are worthy. We will take what we deserve without mercy or remorse! Ha ha, this the Champions League, and you’re not in it!”
**Damion drops the mic, reaches into his coat pocket and replaces his sunglasses, then smiles wickedly at the camera as Alex Prime looks out at the crowd with smug disdain. Beckett climbs a corner to the second rope and looks out into the crowd, pointing and laughing and deriding the fans.**