FADE IN...
Adrian Willard is walking out of the Taste of Chicago onto Michigan Avenue walking through the light crowd due to the small storm that is passing over his hometown of Chicago. He passes a few folks that stand in the city streets taking photos of the sky scrappers as he stops in front of one.
“And finally, after waiting for your response, letting time settle, letting thoughts flow here you are, Hornet. Here you stand, raving your legacy, raving your accomplishments. Shall we start with the start of time, or the end?”
“Your fame, your glory can be listed on pages, through books, through documentaries. Hell, we can most likely take the entirety of your CSWA career and make a DVD series based simply around you.”
“You can do the same thing based on Cameron Cruise, doesn't mean it was WORTH WHILE.”
“You can do the same for Copycat or Anarky, doesn't mean it SELLS.”
“You have a history that sells. You have a HISTORY that sells. Not a future.”
“Through it all, through all these things we can do it will take the start of your career, t will take the middle of your career , and the end. Oh the little meaningless ending. The fade away, the fade out, you can no longer dig in, go the distance, go the extra mile.”
“Look at every great athlete may it be fiction or in our every day sports.”
“Charles Barkley, fell off the face of the earth. Warren Moon and Barry Sanders dwindled in their starlight. Even Dan Marino, his legacy? Being great with no ring, no championship to show for his greatness. That brings us to you Hornet, a man with gold, with championships, but where are they now?”
“That is what you fail to take in, this is where your vision fails to see the actual realism of the facts. You are nothing more than a stepping stone to men like me. Men like me need you, simply to beat, so we can stroke our egos on beating the dying dog.”
“You talk of Dan Ryan, where is he now? Running EPW hiding behind a desk? His legacy is nothing more than a paper pusher. You speak of GUNS? I haven't heard of him in years. Randalls? Retired? Dead? Who knows.”
“You say the crowd remembers these matches? That you had these epic amazing battles with these men, then where are they? They knew when it was time to throw in the towel, they knew when they went from legend to a HACK. They knew that their time in the industry was over and to get out with some dignity, not all of it, but the meager amount that remained.”
“You, Hornet? You are trying so desperately to gain that success you had, that run of greatness. Have you had it? Do you have a belt strapped to your waist? I don't recall you making an appearance at CSWA's Gold Rush, I don't recall hearing Hornet winning anything truly spectacular?”
“As for me, I am working my way to the top Hornet, and there is nothing better on the resume than saying you beat Hornet. It may not be in your prime, it may not be when you were at the peak of your existence, more so on the tail end of it.”
“Legacy’s, epic matches, charisma, and showcase. They don't win matches. They win the audience. Physical brute strength, confidence, technical skill and just god damn conditioning, that better PHYSICAL skill. They win matches. You no longer have that. You aren't in peak professional performance. You are basing your skill off what WAS, what will NEVER be again. You can't repeat the past, you can't have those legendary matches any longer.”
“I can remind you what a beating feels like. I can remind you of having to push yourself in a match and getting no reward for it. I will take you back in time to when defeat was painful.”
“I may be round one Hornet, but I am the last round you will see in this tournament.”
“Topic closed. That's your prophecy, that is your future, this is my vision.”
FADE OUT.