Evolution of an Empire

[JLevinson]

(FADEIN to a nearly empty bar somewhere in New Haven, Connecticut. The place is run down with graffiti and carvings all over the wooden walls and tables. Sitting at the end of the bar is Anarky, drinking an Elm City Lager out of a can. He takes a long swig and then speaks to seemingly nobody in particular.)

ANARKY: “Everybody’s a critic.”

(He smiles and raises the can to the camera, as if toasting, and takes a swig before speaking again.)

ANARKY: “Yet not everybody is here in my shoes, are they. For all the talk… for all the posturing, for all the second-guessing, all the withering criticism, all the I-can-do-it-better-than-you… there is only me sitting here, right now.

“There is only one EPW World Heavyweight Champion.

“And I might not be the Champion you want. I might not be the kind of Champion you even like or respect. But guess what, boys and girls. I’m the f*cking Champion you’re stuck with whether you f*cking like it or not, so until one of you actually gets into that motherf*cking ring and pins these shoulders to the ground, well… you can sit right on back and keep runnin’ those cute little mouths of yours, which is what you’re good at.

“Copycat. What can I say, old friend. I ain’t gonna lie. There were a few moments in that ring when I didn’t think I was gonna get up. When I said, f*ck it, this sh*t ain’t worth it, I’m too f*cking old, I’m too f*cking tired, and this f*cking lunatic isn’t gonna stop until he’s dead.

“But you know me… I never could walk away from you. Can’t just let you be. But I know you ain’t goin’ any-f*ckin’-where. And you know me. I’ll be right here waitin’ for you.

“Which leads us to the next pretender to the throne… Stalker.

“You know, Stalker… for awhile, I tried to treat you like I would treat any insignificant, bratty child. I hoped if I ignored you and left you to your own devices, you’d go away on your own. Starved of the attention you so desperately sought, I figured you’d walk away, dejected.

“Perhaps I underestimated your resolve. Or your desperation. No matter.

“You want me, Stalker? You want a shot at me? Well guess what. It ain’t my place to f*cking give you one. In case you hadn’t noticed, I don’t exactly call the shots around here. Dan Ryan’s the guy who signs the paychecks, so if you wanna bother someone, you can bother him.

“In the meantime, Stalker, I can promise you something. You have my f*cking attention. I’m done watching you waste my f*cking time with all this Caitlyn Daymon as the world turns bullsh*t. I don’t give a sh*t about you or your past or the control you so desperately seek.

“I ain’t gonna sit back and watch anymore, buddy. You wanna know what I’m made of? I’m gonna show you, each and every f*cking week, and if you don’t like it, too f*cking bad, cause you’re gonna get it anyway.

“You wanna get started at Aggression with Dis? Be my f*cking guest.

“After all, the only person who likes running their mouth more than you is Dis.

“Oh, Dis. You have such a way about you. Man, woman, child, it matters not.

“I chuckled at your suggestion I relinquish the title. But don’t think I missed the undercurrent of that deadly wit of yours. I know what you’re sayin’.

“You’re sayin’ the same thing everybody else is sayin’. You should be here cause I ain’t sh*t and you can do it better than I can. It’s all very convincing, I promise.

“Except the thing is… you ain’t here. I am. And you haven’t done sh*t to earn your way here. Except, like Stalker, you’re pretty good at runnin’ your mouth at me. A lot better at runnin’ your mouth than fightin’ me, that’s for sure.

“But I guess it’s easy to sit back and criticize when you’ve done nothing in EPW. I mean, you have this so-called history, but given that I wasn’t here, nor do I even have any f*cking clue who you are or who you’re supposed to be or who you think I should speculate you are.

“Guess what. I don’t give a f*ck who you are. You got your mask… I got mine. It’s all the same.

“You don’t like me as a Champion, I don’t like you as someone who is allowed near a microphone. We all got complaints. If you wanna f*ckin’ do somethin’ about it, I guess you’ll just have to get in line.

“See, EPW’s got a real loud peanut gallery full of wannabes and pretenders who are real good at tellin’ everybody how I should act. How I’m supposed to boast and brag and wear my EPW World Heavyweight Title in the shower with me just to make sure I truly, truly treasure the God’s Given Gift I wake up with.

“Well f*ck you, Stalker. And f*ck you, Dis. And f*ck you, Impulse, for thinkin’ you know how a man should act, and f*ck you, Larry Tact, for tryin’ to cheapen MY matches, and f*ck you, Copycat, for thinkin’ anybody needs you to save them.

“I ain’t gonna be your kind of champion. I’m gonna be me. Cause y’know what?

“I’m the one standing here. I’m the one who went into the King of the Cage and left the last one standing. I’m the one who finally avenged my loss to First from way back when I first got here. I’m the one still carrying the EPW banner long after Sean Stevens got finished congratulating himself on being such a big f*cking deal.

“You want your match with me and Tact, Stalker and Dis? You got it. I’ll be there, ready to f*cking remind you that this ain’t the EPW you want it to be. It ain’t the EPW you wish it was.

“This is the Empire you’re stuck with, and I’m the f*cked up wreck of a man you’re stuck with as a champion. And if you think you can do it better…

“Well… “

(He smiles and takes one last swig of beer, finishing it off.)

ANARKY: “.. I’d like to see you f*cking prove it.”

(FADEOUT.)

 

[User Poets]

Fadein: The Empire's Intercontinental Championship belt.

Why? Wrestler on a budget.

"You'll have to excuse me, Anarky, for having an opinion. However, I was under the impression that a wrestler who had been around for as long as you, with the success you've had, you would've known exactly what being the Champion entailed."

"And that, by wrestling and defeating The First, you were, in fact, asking for this."

"But no hard feelings. Congratulations on your win over Copycat, and good luck with Tact and Dis."

"About your dressing down of the rest of us, however... about proving it?"

"After you dispose of Tact and Dis, how about extending your reach towards the new Intercontinental Champion?"

"Non - title, of course. Haven't earned that one yet."

Fade.

 

[Stalker]

MY Belt

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

(Jason Reeves sitting at his motel room table. His leg is stretched out and laying on a chair across from him. His ankle, still taped up.)

Stalker: Where is my thanks? For declaring that you would walk out of Wrestleverse as champion? I don't even get a thank you, instead, you say f*cking more times in one f*cking promo then I have ever seen in my life.

I didn't think I would get you that angry, but I guess it did. The truth hurts, it hurts me as much as it does you. Yeah you are the champion we are stuck with, yeah i'm a 'pretender' to your throne. Yeah I have to make sure Dan Ryan calls my number next and YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. You are worse then a f*cking train wreck, Anarky.

Everything you said is true, the very fact that you don't walk into your shower with your title on your shoulder, tells me one very important thing..... You aren't worthy of it.

Sean Stevens was the last worthy champion EPW has seen. He slept with his belt, ate with his belt, took a **** with his belt and f*cked Ivy with his belt wrapped around his f*cking waist.

The very fact that you disrespect that belt by speaking of The First's name in the same sentence as THAT belt makes me want to puke my f*cking guts out. That piece of trash should never be associated with the title.... ever.... again.

You may think that this is your EPW, but trust me, it isn't. Like I told Dan Ryan already, no one and I mean no one is going to stop me from strapping that title around my waist and being called World Heavyweight Champion.

So come Aggression 60, when we step into that f*cking ring, and I pin your f*cking shoulders to the mat, you can leave the arena knowing full well that you have met your match.

I've been saying it for far too long for you NOT to realize what is happening here.

I am coming for you and MY title.

(Fade.)

 

[DBrunkGXW]

Re: MY Belt

(Dis in front of a Wrestleverse IV banner.)

DIS: (Voice distorted) The children are quite upset. The Sad King makes them so upset.

The Sad King says he wears a mask.

I see through it. I know the Sad King.

Better then he even knows himself.

But my mask he can not pierce.

He claims not to care but he still speaks of me.

And the Lunatic and the Noble One beg and plead for attention from him.

Yet it is I that have called the tune.

It is I that makes everyone dance.

I laid down the edict for a tag match at Aggression 60.

So it came to pass.

What power is your title if you can’t call the shots?

I am the one in control here.

You say I talk a lot.

Sorry I just got back to Empire Pro Wrestling.

Sorry Dan Ryan didn’t fall on his knees thankful of my return and turn the main event into a three way.

If he had then I’d already be champion.

Instead I laid waste to a near seven foot tall, over four hundred pound man.

Didn’t even break a nail in doing so.

We’ll meet in that ring at Aggression.

I will finally stand eye to eye with the Sad King.

I will stand facing the Empire Pro World Champion.

He will stand facing a legend beyond his imagining.

The Sad King has no idea what he has gotten himself into.

This is the beginning of the end for you.

But that’s what you really want isn’t it?

To be rid of this burden.

It is also what I want.

To be rid of you.

(Fade)