Honor and Respect
(FADEIN to an empty gym, save for one man in the back corner lifting weights. As the camera pans around all of the unused equipment, the repetetive groans and thuds of the weights hitting the ground stands out. Anarky puts the weights down and sits down on a bench, wiping his face off with a towel. He breathes heavily for a few seconds before speaking.)
ANARKY: "Over the course of my career, I have gone through many... evolutions. From a starstruck jobber... to a glorified jobber... to a reigning God of Wrestling... to nothing. And back again. Rage... Jared... whatever you want me to call you... I remember you. Don't think that just because I had the belts and the glory that I didn't see what was going on around me. That I was too busy trying to be THE MAN, as you say, that I forgot everything.
"You see, Jared... of all the lessons I've learned... of all the trials and tribulations I've had to go through just to get here, just to be on the undercard of a house show for a regional promotion with YOU... the one that stuck with me with the most... was the one I learned, not while I was Champion, but while I was nobody.
"You may or may not be right about things, Jared. Certainly there was a time when I held more titles than anyone. Nobody can argue that. But one thing you may not realize is that despite all of my championships, I didn't receive one OUNCE of RESPECT from ANYONE that mattered. Sure, nobodies like you worshipped me while you touched yourself in the dark, lonely nights... but the ones that mattered... they never cared.
"I could never win enough for them. I could never hold enough titles. I could never inflict enough pain on them to make them see that I was, indeed, THE BEST WRESTLER IN THE WORLD. And then I finally realized... and I retired. It didn't matter. Jared, people only see what they want to see. I realize that now. Guys like Doc Silver, Mike Randalls, GUNS, Mark Windham... supposed legends... do you know what they really are, Jared? Petty, insecure children. They were so INCAPABLE of understanding that somebody could come out of NOWHERE and do what they COULDN'T... that they simply refused to believe. And when enough people deny the truth, Jared... well, it doesn't exist for them at all, does it?
"I found myself, Jared. Not in the glory of the gold. Not in the impressive victories. Not even with the fans cheering my name. No, Jared, I found something REAL in a sport full of PHONIES. I found something BEAUTIFUL in a world of DISGUST. Do you know what I found, Jared? I found that it is only when there is blood dripping from our wounds... when every muscle in your body screams for release... when every part of your soul begs for mercy... when there is simply nothing left to give... that is when we find ourselves. Only when we have nowhere to go, and nowhere to hide, and nothing to prove, that we can truly become something better.
"Jared, this might be the most important night of your life. Your fans may have waited years for this. You might think that you're FINALLY getting a chance to prove yourself. Well I hate to disappoint, Jared, but I've got NOTHING TO PROVE. I don't have to beat YOU or ANYONE ELSE... because I've already proven everything there is to prove. I've slayed the unslayable. I've held the titles. I've given the fans more entertainment then they will understand, and they hate me for it. Fine.
"You can call it a Dream Match, or you can call it the most important match of your life. You can call it your final chance to prove yourself, or you can call it a match of respect and honor. But it doesn't matter, Jared. Win or lose, nothing changes. Everyone is too consumed with their own glory to admit that maybe, just MAYBE, somebody out there could be BETTER.
"The REAL question, Jared, is why I'm wasting my time on YOU. You see, I don't have ANYTHING TO PROVE to ANYONE. I don't give a damn if Maelstrom has the belt. I don't give a damn if there's 10 guys ahead of me in the rankings. And I care even LESS if you think that beating ME is going to make you any more of a man. Why are guys like Stephen Morgan and Nemesis getting shots at the TV Title while I'm stuck here, fighting guys like you? I haven't lost yet, but Nemesis is somehow ahead of me?
"It's the same old story, same old song and dance, Jared. Malec knows it. Maelstrom knows it. Hell, even a fool like Jobber probably knows it. Do you know what I'm talking about, Rage? I'm talking about the fact that EVERYONE in the WORLD knows that the ONLY man in this WHOLE PATHETIC LEAGUE who can even CHALLENGE our Champion... is ME. And if YOU THINK... for ONE GODDAMNED SECOND... that you're going to get in the way of THAT... well, Jared, then I think it's about time that I show you what you called the "RULE OF ANARKY" is ALL ABOUT.
"Chaos rules all, Jared... whether you like it or not. And at Wired, I WILL be victorious. And you will still be nobody. And the earth will still spin towards exctinction. And nobody will care."
(FADEOUT.)