Exclusive.
FADE IN: inside the 40/40 Club, in the Flatiron district of Manhattan, NY. Hip-hop and R&B tracks-- particularly of part-owner Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and a selection of others-- sets the tone in the background, while ladies and gentlemen-- mostly dressed in formal wear, with one here or there dressed in neat-fitting jeans and a dress shirt-- sit in the rounded leather chairs hanging down from the ceiling. The slate bar at level one is filled up with patrons, ordering drinks while watching the latest sports game on one of several double-sided, LCD flat-screens. The camera pans around the scene, catching a few showcased jerseys of superstars who donned the #40 jersey-- as well as LT and Bonds jerseys that made the cut-- before moving along the Venetian marble floor, towards the stairs leading up. CUTTO: level two, where we walk through a hallway decorated with cases holding used bats, balls, jerseys, and other equipment. Peaking into one of the VIP lounges, we see it filled with around 100 people; either standing, or sitting on the wrap-around, italian sofas, watching what's on the plasma flat-screen TVs, while wait-staff weaves through serving drinks.
CUTTO: a different VIP room, probably with around the same number inside, but larger, where the cameraman enters. As he makes his way through, we see jerseys of Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Jose Canseco, and Alfonso Soriano showcased. Following one of the waitresses, we stop at a corner of one of the italian sofas, where the waitress places drinks on a transparent glass table. A man reaches out a hand with a few bills. She gives a quick smile and nod of acknowledgement, before taking them and disappearing back into the crowd.
We see the man is Larry Tact, dressed in a three-quarters buttoned, lusty green collared shirt, showing part of a white shirt underneath, and black slacks. After handing the bill to the waitress, he returns to making out with a sexy brunette with black heels and a form-fitting purple dress on; cut mid-thigh, accentuating each curve of her slim body, and framing her cleavage with straps that meet at the back of her neck. He slides his hand up her thigh before noticing the camera and breaking off his lip lock, licking his lips to clean up a bit.
LARRY TACT: "Bad timing, man... although it would have been worse if you came a minute from now. I doubt you'd have gotten much to bring back to the EPW offices... for my match, at least."
He turns towards us while his lady adjusts her dress and leans on him.
"As you can see, I've decided to splurge a little tonight, bringing some of my friends to the '40/40.' But I called YOU here, to take it in on that lens, because I felt generous. Since, this week, I'm facing Omega. Make sense yet? Let me clarify a bit. You see, Omega's got this complex about himself... maybe it's a matter of pride, maybe it's an inferiority complex, or maybe it's just the inevitable truth. But a lot of what I've heard, from him, is that I'm dealing with a locker room-proclaimed bottom-feeder this week. One of EPWs gutter trash, which Lindsay Troy has decided to set across the ring from me. I played along with it, poked some fun about it... but the truth is, I couldn't care less what labels they've given you, or where you stand in the eyes of your peers, Omega. In all honesty, you're the one who's dragged that out, continuing to play it up. I guess you might've taken a lesson from JA, playing the sympathetic loser. The rising underdog. I don't care for any of it, but I guess the trash who occupy the seats at our shows do. Maybe, in Omega's eyes, it's a way of connecting, gaining acceptance... one piece of waste to many others. I guess it's easy to do if you really ARE at the bottom, or accept what others tell you. Easy to poke fun at, sure. I got clearance to film here, to show you a place bottom-feeders and gutter trash will never see the inside of, in person with your own eyes. But no more playing around."
He takes up the two large glasses the waitress left in one hand. One has a salted rim and lime-colored slush drink, maybe a margarita mix, which he hands off to his companion. They take sips of their drinks, both with straws in them; his own glass consisting of a severely diluted brown color, perhaps a heavily-liquored LI Ice tea. Just guessing.
"I understand there's a lot of talk around the locker room, and on the 'net, about everyone's place. But Omega, what you've done is taken that so-called 'hype,' and made a point out of it. The trash love it. Even some of the boys in the back will run with it. But if you really knew what you were going up against, this week, you'd know not to do what you did. I call it... mistake number one."
"I'd give you a little credit, trying to play off this match as you being some sleeper that Lindsay's set to tear me up. That's creative, maybe even flattering, but not the case. Why put an unkown in the ring with someone who only gets further ramped up for fresh challenges? That's a main reason I jumped to EPW. If you'd done your research, you'd know I don't look at ANYONE as too weak or strong for me to bring my A-game against. I may have off weeks, but I NEVER go easy on anyone."
"Playing yourself off as someone whom I'd allow to fly under my radar... that's mistake number two. There's a difference between an opponent I'm unfamiliar with, and one I underestimate, Omega. The former? I study up on, and adapt to during the match. The latter? I just.. don't.. do."
"In time, you'll learn, Omega. These things are requisite, not optional, for what those of my caliber do. They're what a World Champion does. If nothing else, you'll make some progress this week, as you learn these things first-hand. I'll beat a couple lessons into you, yet."
He takes a a good sip of his drink, turns to his girl and kisses her deeply. When they break, he licks his lips, she swallows, and he nods in approval before whispering in her ear. She pecks him on the lips and stands, walking into the crowd with her drink. He smirks.
"That's love, right there. The real show will have to wait, though, 'til you're gone and we're back at my place."
He leans forward on the sofa, his eyes focused more on the task at hand, now.
"I don't mind if you feel that you have a chance in this match, Omega. There's always a tipping point, so to speak, when the match will permanently swing in one direction or another. It isn't a predictable occurrence, or even necessarily a matter of doing a certain amount of damage to your opponent. If you saw the last PPV Main Event, and compared it to either of our matches with JA, my point is proven. One week, it can take both guys exhausting themselves, pulling out all the stops, and then some, before reaching that point. Another week, it's only a matter of minutes before one person takes the match to that point. You see, it isn't something you can predict, based on who's facing who. It's something you find out once the match occurs. And so, until we reach that tipping point, Omega, there's always a chance of anything happening."
"Knowing that well, do you think, even for a SECOND, that I'd let up on any of my opponents? Do you think I WOULDN'T expect you to put everything you had into this match?"
"That's mistake number three."
He takes another sip from his drink and sets it back on the table.
"I granted you all a little tour of the place before you came to me. There's more reason for that, though, than just showing somewhere you'll never be able to afford, or obtain the status to enter. They call this room in 40/40, the 'Hall of Fame' lounge. It's the largest, most decked out of the VIP lounges, and for good reason. This place captures the essence of 40/40, what it means to be exclusive. The name comes from that rare-obtained statline in baseball... 40 HRs and 40 steals in the same season. POWER AND SPEED... a combination any athlete would salivate watching, and go to great lengths to acquire. You see the 'juicers' and the muscle heads trying to get there... but they never will. For all their training, only four players in baseball's recorded history have EVER reached the plateau of 40/40. Bonds. Canseco. Rodriguez. Soriano. That's it. Four athletes who possessed enough of that combination of power and speed, to reach that height of status. It doesn't get much more exclusive than that."
"The connection should be simple. In wrestling, when you have that combination, you're as good as gold. And Omega, on the shortlist of wrestlers who possess it, to the extent where they can exploit it to reach great heights... I'm on it. Larry Tact is most certainly someone who can effectively hit with either power... or speed. It allows for my neo-technician's style. And it allows me to be one of the world's premier technical wrestlers, bar none."
"If you think I'm just puffing my chest out, you'll know the truth soon. And if you know it isn't a front... then you should also know there's no rational reason for thinking the same thought as many others, who have fallen by my hands; a thought that you voiced openly, showing your naiveté."
"Omega with the big upset win over Larry Tact."
He laughs a bit.
"I should aim to knock you flat out for saying that, while also claiming you have a grip on who you're facing. But I don't get heated over that petty crap, anymore. I don't make those mistakes... but you're already at your fourth one."
"If we were in baseball, you'd be beyond struckout. You'd already be in the dugout, throwing your bat into the rack in disgust. But we're not in baseball, and the one who'll be disgusted if they lose will be me. You make like there's nothing on the line for me in this match, as if my winning will simply deprive Lindsay Troy of halting the progress Anthology has made. That isn't the case at all."
"While it's good to be focused on the opponent in front of you, it's also important to keep your perspective. Maybe someday you'll understand, Omega, that even a win over me this week, is not going to get you an award. It might be a boost to your confidence, but it isn't likely to be some pass to the respect you seem to be looking for. And likewise, a loss to you won't blemish anything about my legacy. Because you have no meaning yet; you're still in your infancy here, whereas I have already established myself. I've already beaten the Intercontinental Champion once, even if I lost once as well. And I have taken my game to the symbolic best of EPW, the World Heavyweight Champion, even if indirectly. There's just nothing you can do to tarnish those marks I've already made. The best you can do is show that you can mix it up with someone the caliber of a World Champion... and that's it."
"There's no elevator to the top in beating me, though. Praise me if you think it'll help, but I know where I stand here, and I know when someone is deluding themselves. Mistake number five."
"Meanwhile, as you think about "just one more good shot!" to try and take me down in the ring... I'll be evaluating which of your tendons I may or may not be ready to snap off your bone. While you're distracting searching for if 'they' are going to help keep Shawn Hart away from you... well, he'll probably be macking it to some chick with her rack busting at the seams, but he'll also be making sure the ring is secure for just the two of us. And I'll be making sure you get your fill of being knocked down, as you expressed so much enjoyment of trying to get back up. Then I'll give you more than your fill, and KEEP you down. I hope it won't be so simple as you make it seem, Omega, with all these mistakes. I only picked a select few, because like I said, I'm feeling generous tonight."
"But really, it's never as satisfying if a fresh challenge bruises too easily, or goes bad before its expiration. It's like milk going sour days before it's supposed to expire. I hate when that happens, so I don't ever believe what the package label tells me. And it's the same with you, this week. I won't be believing you're going to be as easy as you sound. Another crazy with something they're looking for... I don't buy the simplicity."
"So when we hit the ring, don't think I'm going to treat you like the rest of the locker room. Don't believe I'm going to have any sympathy for the devil in you, or the man facing me."
"My legacy has no room for sympathy, and no time for making stops. I want to continue on the express lane to gold, and that means pissing in a bottle and dropping change in toll baskets as I burn up the road. You'll be a speed bump, Omega: I won't allow myself to be stopped because of you, but I'll have to make sure you don't run me off the road once I hit you at top speed. That's praise enough for you."
"Just be grateful if your stepping into the ring isn't the beginning of your end, Omega. Be grateful if, after the match is done, you're able to walk away on your own. Because not all speed bumps survive.. when they're repeatedly hit with both..."
"Power and speed."
"Now, if you'll excuse me... my turbine is primed, so I have to find the gears I was about to grease."
He stands with his drink and a smirk, immersing himself back in with his party as the camera pans around again, settling on the showcased four jerseys of the 40/40 Club. FADE OUT.