2014.06.28: PWN - LEGACY - Start Right
The scene fades in and we find ourselves in a penthouse hotel room in Richmond, Virginia. As we pan around the room we see a man standing on the balcony looking out at the bay. He is dressed in a pair of beige shorts and a white shirt, half unbuttoned, revealing his well toned body. The sleeves are rolled up to the elbow. He looks ready for action. As we approach he turns around and smiles warmly in our direction, with a perfect Hollywood smile. The man is none other than Legacy Wrestling’s newest superstar - Mike Harrison. Behind him is a beautiful scene of the waterfront, despite today being overcast. It is quite a hot day, with the temperature being in the nineties. This doesn’t seem to bother Mike Harrison as he stands in front of the camera. He looks comfortable with the weather, and this is confirmed by his confident demeanour.
A minute passes before he begins to address his audience for the first time.
“Thank you for joining me here in Richmond, Virginia. My name is Mike Harrison, and I am the newest wrestler to join the roster here in Legacy Wrestling,” Harrison pauses for a moment before continuing. “Normally I would be at home in Malibu, California, but I am here in Richmond on business. I have a match to wrestle, and once that is done with, I will be on a plane back home to California, ready to take on the challenge that has been put before me at Independence Day. That challenge is none other than the so-called spokesman of the generation - Joey Edwards.”
“His name seems familiar, but I can’t quite place it. It doesn’t really matter if I have been in the same place, at the same time, as Joey Edwards because we have never faced off before - of that, I am certain. This will be our first match, and what better way than to face off at Legacy Wrestling’s second event?” Harrison smiles warmly at the camera. “I can’t think of a better way to have our first match together. Carson, CA is a beautiful place, and so is the arena. The fans out in California are generally passionate, and they can be quite knowledgeable. So we won’t be out there performing in front of people that will not appreciate the art of a good wrestling match. And that is exactly what we will have at Independence Day, because we can put on a technical master class, or we can fly high and let their jaws hit the floor. We can go out there and slug it out. Basically, Joey, we are very similar in the way we go about our business in the ring, and that will make it an interesting contest. It will be a test of who the better wrestler is, and I am certain that we will both not stop until we have proven our point that we are the best wrestler on the night!”
Harrison looks at the camera, but his eyes are hidden by a pair of designer shades. He removes his shades and clips them to the top pocket of his shirt. Behind the shades are a pair of piercing blue eyes, somewhat warm and welcoming at the minute, but there is no doubt that there is also a coldness behind them. After all, Mike Harrison has made a career of being the type of man that will do anything and everything to win, and he has been known to stop at nothing when people stand in his way. At Independence Day, that is what Joey Edwards will have to face, because while Harrison loves to wrestle, he loves to win more. And that desire to win, can, and has, led to many unspeakable acts going down in a wrestling ring.
“Joey, we are two guys that have the ability to steal the show. Now that can be for good or bad reasons. The good, could be us putting on a five star match and stealing the show. It will be tough to do when you consider the sheer amount of talent that has been booked on this event’s card, but for the spokesman of a generation, and for this wily veteran, it will be nothing that we haven’t done before. But,” Harrison stops for a moment and takes a pause. He looks conflicted, like he is mulling over what he is going to say next. Soon enough he continues. “But things might go down differently. This match could steal for the show for bad reasons as well. I don’t doubt for a second that we will put on a great back-and-forth contest, but at the same time, you need to be aware that I am here to make my presence felt, and I will stop at nothing in order to do that. If I have to lie, cheat and steal, then that is exactly what I will do. If I have to punt you in the skull and take you out, then that is what I will do.”
Harrison lets the threat linger in the air for a few seconds before he walks into his hotel room, leaving the balcony behind. He walks over to the sofa and sits down on the middle, stretching his arms out casually to rest on the top of the sofa.
“You need to know, Joey, the type of man that you are facing this week. At heart, I am a wrestler. It is why I have come back to the independent scene, because if you want old school wrestling, if you want great contests - then this is the place to be. The independent scene is thriving. Almost every week a new promotion is popping up in different locations, some more exotic than others. This year I have already been to Florida, Tennessee, and most recently Missouri. Great places to wrestle. But despite being a wrestler at heart, with a desire to take part in great wrestling matches, I am also long enough in the tooth to know there comes a time when you have to use up here,” Harrison taps his temple twice. “You see, this business isn’t all smiles and handshakes. You can’t get by with heart alone. You need to be intelligent if you want to succeed in this business. Even in the independent scene you have self centred sons a bitches. The type of people that only care about themselves, and how successful they are, regardless of whether it comes at a cost of other people. The type of people that will use you, but once you have no use, discard you like a used tissue. Some might think it is sad that people will do whatever it takes to get an advantage in order to further their own career, but not me...”
Harrison shrugs casually. Some people would be bothered if people saw them as self centred, egotistical, bastards. But for Harrison, it is simply the way that has made him successful. He used to be a so-called good guy. The type of man that would pander to the fans. But that changed one night when he was screwed over by a so-called friend. That night set him on a different path. A path from which there is no return. From that night, Harrison became the man before the camera today, and he has not lost one wink of sleep since.
“At the end of the day, the people who do the best in this business are the winners, not the losers. To win, you need to able to get the job done. Sometimes you can do that fair and square, but on other occasions you need to get your hands dirty. You need to be able to do some unspeakable things, and not hesitate when it comes to doing them. That is the type of man I am, Joey,” he taps himself proudly on the chest. “I will go down to that ring with one goal in mind - to achieve victory. Anything else is secondary to me. It is like when you are playing a video game. You have achievement whores, and then people who simply play the game to win. That is me. I go and beat the game, and any achievements gained along the way are nice, but not essential. That is how I see this business, this match even. If I go down to the ring and put on a five star match, great, gut if I don’t win then does it really matter?”
Harrison looks at the camera questioningly.
“Some people say that it does matter, because when you put on a five star match it shows you have the ability to wrestle. Now I would agree with that sentiment, because I have spent a lifetime honing my craft, and developing one of the best all round skill sets in this business. Like I said earlier. I can go toe-to-toe in a technical wrestling contest. I can fly high. I can brawl. I can do it all. Hey that rhymes!” Harrison chuckles. “But ultimately, you need to get the job done if you want the opportunities and title shots. Management don’t back losers, they back winners. I am aiming high in this company, and with that in mind, I need to beat you. So don’t take it personally if I cross the line at Independence Day, because you are no different than anyone else. You are simply another opponent that has been put in front of me, an opponent that I will beat by any means necessary, and that, Joey, is something you should be concerned about. I am not a raw, naive rookie. I am a wily veteran, with a chip on his shoulder, and a determination to hit the top of the mountain. Now I don’t expect you to believe me, or fear me. But when I smack you in the face with the sunshine super kick, or lock in the lights out - it will be at that point, when the lights finally go out, that you will realise that I am simply the better man. That is what I will be at the end of the night - the better man - and there is no shame in that. It has happened to many of my opponents down the years, and you will be joining that exclusive club. That will be the achievement you get from this match, whereas mine will be a nice debut victory, a victory that will propel me towards where I want to be.”
Harrison pauses and smiles broadly at the camera one last time.
“So at Independence Day, Joey, you will be my stepping stone. And if you don’t like that, then you can choke on that, sunshine!”
And with that our scene fades to black.
