2014.07.19: PWN - LEGACY - Please allow me to introduce myself...
It had been almost a month since Legacy Wrestling had held it's debut show inside a packed out Carson Community Center for their inaugural, and ominously named Friday the 20th. They followed that up with the Fourth of July themed Independence Day about ten days ago to more industry buzz. Through the course of the show the already shaky landscape of this uppity start up had changed completely. As the shot opens we can see the inside of one very empty CCC, quite a contrast given there were at least two and a half thousand wrestling nuts in here the last time you saw it. With the next show, a nod to classic Jim Morrison led Doors, Break on Through just a few days away the Legacy Wrestling crew had already begun to get set up. Luckily there were no events booked just before and thus the company was taking fan feedback and working on the seat layout. The ring of course is already set up but you don"t really care about any of this crap right? Well my pictures almost painted because after the once over the camera quickly moves up one of the aisles of bleacher style seating going almost to the top before stopping. For there, right on the end seat, and for no particular reason sat one of Legacy Wrestling's newest signings, "Above Average" Joe Cooper.
Joe gives a little smile and wave as he sits forward out of the laid back slump he was in moments prior. Nothing much has changed since the unfortunate hiatus of the ICWA either. Same mangy beard...same unkempt hair...hell, about the only thing that has changed is his lack of winter apparel and the shiner he was sporting courtesy of the gangland style assault he suffered at the hands of WASTE the week prior. ICWA hadn't done many shows out west, and coming from Minnesota, Joe wasn't used to the hotter climate of SoCal. However, he had taken the move surprisingly well and had decided to wear a grey t shirt sporting the phrase "Trust Me I'm A Jedi" in metallic gold lettering and applicable Star Wars font type. He had also dug out one of his pairs of worn out jeans out of the army he owned and tied it up with a crisp, clean, pair of Batman styled Converse All Stars. Joe leaned forward a bit as he looked around the empty arena before looking back down at the camera.
Joe: "I'm sure your all wondering just what the heck I am doing here in an empty building, maybe your wondering not why I'm here exactly but how I managed to get in? Still others may just be wondering who the hell I am. I plan on answering all those questions, maybe not in that order, but before I do that I just want to give a thank you to the video staff of Legacy Wrestling for coming in on an off day to let me do all this. Also just so you know...someone left a side door to the center open, so you might want to get that looked at. Now that gibberish is out of the way, onto what the hell I am doing here in an empty building..."
Joe looks around, taking in the surprisingly spacious CCC and almost enjoying the peaceful serenity for a few brief moments.
Joe: "I have to admit, I like to do this a lot when I get the chance. Normally its the day of the show but even then people are running around like headless chickens checking this, installing that, and I am forced to make due. But not today...today its just me, a couple thousand empty seats, and a ring in the middle that's twenty by twenty. This week at Break on Through I make my proper and uninterrupted Legacy Wrestling debut, not to dissimilar to ICWA truth be told. This week I'll be in that ring...for the better part of a month however, I was sitting right here."
Joe pats the spot on the bench next to where he currently sits before digging into his pocket and pulling out two slightly crumpled pieces if paper. He straightens them out before holding them up to the camera.
Joe: "Thought I should keep'em...to remind me of the first couple of times I witnessed the impressive talent on display in this company."
Joe places the tickets back into his pocket and continues.
Joe: "See unfortunately for the Legacy fans I hadn't signed my contract and thus I wasn't able to perform on Friday the 20th. So, I bought a ticket and sat right here with a few thousand other lunatics and watched the entire show. Normally I watch the show from behind the curtain or on a monitor in the back if possible. It was only on special occasions that I would venture out into the fans and watch from the crowd. But two weeks ago, these people reminded me what's it's like to be a fan, and not a performer. I think a lot of the guys in the back have forgotten what it was like watching from out here. Whether it's the money...the notoriety...the ego, in some cases, but whatever it is...they've lost that connection. They've chosen to cast aside the very reason they're even doing this every week...and that's the fact that we're all wrestling fans. Because believe me, there's far easier ways to make a living then putting your body through hell like we do. I do what I do not just because I'm good at it...and I am very damn good at it, but because I love to do it in front of these people. And I'm not just talking about the fans of Legacy Wrestling but fans the world over. Like, the kid who's Dad buys them a front row ticket near ringside and he sticks his hand out hoping to get a high five. Or the die hard who camps out the day before tickets go on sale beside the box office window because he wants to be the first one to get his. Or the person who sits all the way up the back in the cheap seats because that's all they can afford, knowing they won't see as well, but still shout just as loud. For all the fans who chant, scream, cheer and boo...for the one's who buy the t-shirts, to the ones who line up for hours to get an autograph and photo, your the reason I do what I do."
Joe smiles slightly realizing he probably sounded extremely corny but not really caring either way.
Joe: "You've given me the means to do what I love and for that I'll be forever grateful. But the last few weeks it was your passion while I was out here watching with you that has made me decide I want more. There's nothing like the energy of a live wrestling crowd so I wondered how I could deprive myself of it every week. And to that end I spoke to some of the staff in charge of ticket sales here and they've kindly offered to keep a ticket aside for me for every show from here on out. Now while my seat may change, I am now officially apart of the living breathing mass of humanity that is the Legacy Wrestling audience and that my friends is freaking awesome. Each and every week I'll be able to sit out here with you and enjoy the spectacle that Legacy puts on. We've got an unbelievable roster...and over the past month I've seen first hand just how talented they are. I saw Matt Ward and Ian Windermear tear in other apart in one of the most violent brawls I think I've ever seen. I saw an epic fatal four way match between Frank Washington, Masen Dysen, Noah Adelaide, and Cameron Kaiser which had every right to be the match of the night. Bobby Langford has continued to impress me with his raw athleticism. We saw the Zarek Lyle cost for one time partner and former ICWA champion Scott Adams a win over Joey Edwards in what I thought would be the shock of the night. I was wrong...that came in the next match when Drew Stevenson showed his true colors by aligning himself with the man they call Decaine."
Joe shakes his head as he remembers how the pair basically beat the hell out of female competitor Alyssa Pryde with a kendo stick before Commissioner Petey put the kibosh on her career by firing her the following show.
Joe: "We've seen the return of the Lone Wolf, Matt Matlock...people have been hired, and fired, and there have been more twists, turns, and loopty loops than a god damn roller coaster. And in the midst of all this chaos, you have little ol' me. The guy everyone looks at and goes 'Huh? THAT guys is a WRESTLER?!'...yeah, see I was supposed to make my in ring debut at Independence Day against Alex Andrews. We all know how that turned out don't we?"
Joe trails off as he reaches up, running his finger over the gross yellow and purple tinged skin around his eyes which was only started to see the swelling go down. That's what happens when three grown men beat the shit out of you don't ya know?
Joe: "Instead of me showing the world exactly why I was set to be the next ICWA World Champion...and I was, you can believe that, instead I was set upon by a pack of wild dogs who go by the name of WASTE. They claim it stands for We Are Greater Than Everyone...its cute, looks great on a t shirt and everything. Personally, I don't describe to that theory which I made evident as I introduced my fist to Aiden Marxs' face over and over and over again. I don't know any of these yahoos...so you'll have to excuse me if I'm not sitting here shitting myself at the thought of my tag team match against two of the four cowards who tried to take me out before I even got started. I'm man enough to admit that had Kevin Moss decided not to come out to that ring at Independence Day, I may have ended up with more than an egg on my noggin, a swollen eye, and a monster headache. To Kevin Moss I say thank you...and at Break on Through, I've got your back like you had mine. While it'd be naive to believe we'll be the greatest tag team ever this Saturday night...I can hold my own. You'll see that as we show these ass hats that they can go claiming whatever the hell they want, because at the end of the day it's all hot air. And how does that saying go..."
Joe pauses, pretending to be lost for the phrase he was attempting to throw out there.
Joe: " Actions speak louder than words right? Matt Ward...Aiden Marx...you boys are real tough when you decide to throw your numbers out there aren't you? You can go on calling yourselves whatever the fuck you want, cus that name WASTE fits you guys well. What with you being wastes of space, oxygen, and your own god given talents. Hell, you keep coming out with those 'title' belts that you probably got out of a couple of Cracker Jack boxes as well. Because those belts your holding, just like WASTE mean absolutely nothing. Here in the real world, outside whatever fantasyland you live in, we've got a word for people like you....assholes."
Joe shakes his head, the annoyance and anger finally starting to shine through. He looks at the camera, as serious a look on his face as a heart attack.
Joe: "Ive had to deal with assholes like you lot my entire career. Every place I've been, I've been put up against and then put down each and every one of them. I dunno what it is about pro wrestling that attracts assholes like flies to shit but your no different to all the other spineless douchebags. You think just because a guy likes video games and reads comic books he can't start some shit? ! Wrong...and you won't know how wrong until this Saturday. WASTE may have started this fight but you can bet your asses that Joe Cooper will be finishing it. When I came running out of the crowd at Independence Day it wasnt an act of stupidity... it was a calculated risk. It was about time someone showed you not everyone is gonna take your shit lying down."
It is at this point that ironically Joe himself rises up onto his feet. He looks determined as hell to make sure he proves in the tag match, any lightheartedness fading away completely.
Joe: "I may not win at Break on Through...you guys may take me out behind the proverbial woodshed and tan my hide a second time. But as a young up and comer from EC fucking W once said...'Please sir, may I have another?'. You may knock me on my ass more times than you can count but as of now Joseph Cooper is all over WASTE like a skin rash boys. Believe me when I tell you, when this war is said and done...WASTE will be wasted, you'll realise all too late how big of a mistake you made picking my match to make your statement in. And you want to know the best part? Just like my 3.0...you'll never see it coming..."
Ahhh there's that cheeky Joe Cooper grin we all know and love. It slides across his face just enough to be evident underneath his ratty beard as Joe proceeds to walk back down the bleacher steps. The cameras follow him till he reaches the arena floor before fading to black.
