The warrior returns.

[RMcConnell]

(The eyes that stared into the camera burned bright. They burned with an intensity that hadn’t been seen in them for many a year. The eyes belonged to “The English Gent” Lawrence Stanley, the man chosen to take up the challenge of Mike Randalls. Stanley’s posture and facial features matched his stare, he was not there for fun, he was all business as usual.)

LAWRENCE STANLEY: Its been a while Randalls…..

(The camera focused in on Stanley’s face, he locked its lens in his line of sight as if staring it down.)

LAWRENCE STANLEY: …….Too long.

(The camera moves back out to show Stanley sitting in an armchair in a navy blue suit, a small glass of brandy was cradled in his right hand which he swirled round form time to time before sipping the contents.)

LAWRENCE STANLEY: Are you surprised to see me? You should be, I’m surprised to see myself once again answering the call of the CSWA. The only other surprise is that the CSWA still want me around, I mean, why would they?

(Stanley again took a sip from the glass as if allowing the question to be thought about sufficiently.)

LAWRENCE STANLEY: I won’t lie to you Randalls, I’m not in the shape I was a year or so ago, injuries have seen to that. You think a man of my breeding would just up and leave without so much as a ‘by your leave’? No, there were reasons I was no longer around, that’s why I need this now.

(Stanley tapped the orthopaedic pillow that was cushioning his neck. The camera focused in on it before again panning out.)

LAWRENCE STANLEY: I have to laugh, I was always concerned about my knee, and finally it was my neck that gave up on me. Oh don’t get me wrong, I can still wrestle, and wrestle to the standard I have set, it is more a case of the days after being far harder than they were previously.

(Stanley drained the last of the contents of the glass and placed it on a table.)

LAWRENCE STANLEY: Alas, I digress. In a sense I should be thankful that this injury has occurred, it has focused my mind, it has sent me a note to tell me I have maybe three years left at the top, four or five at a push. Either way, by the time I get to forty I will have to stop throwing my body about like I do now. This got me thinking, say my neck goes tomorrow, what have I achieved in the CSWA? A few titles here and there, a brief US title reign but nothing to mark me down as a CSWA legend or hall of fame candidate.

(Stanley pauses, as if taking in the notion himself. He loosens his tie slightly with his right hand, it appears his hand is shaken slightly, but it could be the lighting.)

LAWRENCE STANLEY: Anyone who knows Lawrence Stanley knows I am driven my history and records. When I finally hang up my wrestling boots I want to leave a legacy behind me, I want that special word tagged onto the end of my name every time it is spoken in wrestling matters…..“The English Gent” Lawrence Stanley…..legend.

(Stanley swallows hard his eyes never leaving the lens.)

LAWRENCE STANLEY: At the moment even the most generous of my fans would find it hard to credit me with such a distinction. I have been given my chances, yet for one reason or another I have failed to deliver upon my promises. I have been given chances at the CSWA World title, but I have not been able to win. Now I know my time frame, I know roughly how long I have to try and win the CSWA World title and I cannot afford to lose anymore time.

(Again Stanley swallowed hard, it seems he is not at ease with the news as he is trying to portray.)

LAWRENCE STANLEY: Having decided upon my future I needed a way to get back into the public eye in the CSWA, then I heard about Mike Randalls challenging anyone, I put my name down, the rest is history. History is a good word for a meeting between us, we’ve met a few times, neither of us have dominated the other, it has been a case of one mistake and the match is over. You’re a big name in the CSWA Randalls, whether I like your style or not, a win over you and Lawrence Stanley is back where he wants to be, in the middle of the action in the CSWA.

(Stanley rubbed his chin ruefully, his stare flickered to the ceiling as if he were contemplating his next words carefully.)

LAWRENCE STANLEY: I will not insult your intelligence with the usual drab comments about how even this is and how either of us could win it, for as I have mentioned earlier, time is of the essence for me now. Let me leave you with this Randalls, you more than anyone knows how dangerous an injured beast is, it fights for its life because it fears everything will be over suddenly if it does not. That epitomises me as of late, anyone who gets in my path will find I will not spare anything in my desire to progress through the ranks. I need the CSWA World title to make my career worthwhile, and you are going to help me kick start that search again Randalls, whether you like it or not.

(Stanley raised his eyebrows as he spoke the finals sentence. He brought his hands together in a prayer like shape before tapping his lips with the finger tips as if he were evaluating what he had just said as the scene fades to black.)

 

[jediPREZ]

"History may be a good word for yourself, Lawrence. As for myself, I'd rather bury my history underneath the cloud of darkness from which it spawned ten years ago..."

(FADEIN: 'The Wolf' MIKE RANDALLS sitting in a lotus position inside an empty wrestling ring...)

RANDALLS: "I am not surprised to see you, Lawrence. Just like I wasn't surprised to see Aho, Southern, Stevens or Cruise sign the contracts. Why would the CSWA want you back? The real question is why would any of us want the CSWA back? This league has failed us more times recently than we have failed it."

"I am back to try and make amends for what I've done. For too long, I've destroyed anything good in this league...covering wrestlers under my shadow of destruction and deceit. While it wasn't too long ago that we faced, Lawrence...the man you look at is a far cry from the man you walked into the ring against two years ago."

"I cannot say I've grown, Lawrence. I cannot say my skills are any better, only time will allow that statement to identify itself correctly. All I can tell you is that my motives are different, my intentions aren't to pin your shoulders to the mat for the sake of personal glory. Do I know how dangerous you can be, Lawrence? Certainly. Do I know how desperate you will be in that ring to prove to yourself that you're ready to become a legend...a World Champion? Certainly. Will any of that help you kickstart your career, whether I like it or not?"

"No, I'm afraid not Lawrence. You've come searching for a ghost...a myth that no longer exists. You're talking to a man that got dominated by Cameron Cruise for over 20 minutes...a man that expects the same to happen in the Meadowlands."

"But rest assured, Lawrence - I will give you something to shoot for. Neither Adler nor Cruise have pinned my shoulders to the mat for three seconds since my return at Anaheim. Nor do I plan on seeing these shoulders hit the mat for that long in the near future."

"But if you conquer that, Lawrence...if you soundly defeat me in the middle of the ring - you'll have done more for yourself than any of my previous incarnations could've done for you..."

"The only trouble is that to achieve this you'll need more than the desire to become a legend or a World Champion...you'll need to be the BEST in this sport."

"I'm no stepping stone, Lawrence...you should know by now...I am the FINAL stone."

BLACK.