(FADEIN to the streets of Nashville, Tennessee, outside the Grand Ole Opry. Anarky is slowly walking down the street, as people pass by. He seems almost lost in thought before he speaks and the camera follows him.)
ANARKY: “Maybe I’m the one to blame here. I admit… it isn’t easy to find clarity, much less to speak with it. And let’s face it… I ain’t exactly f*ckin’ Stephen King here. I mostly spent my time lettin’ my fists do the talkin’.
“Yet… I can’t help but feel that ain’t exactly right, either. Cause in the end, it seems, we’re always findin’ ourselves in the same argument, sayin’ the same things… I always find myself asking the same question.
“Who am I supposed to be?”
(He stops and contemplates this a minute before he moves on.)
ANARKY: “If The First had his way, I’d be sitting here, threatening to bathe in his blood and maim his internal organs… I’d be the ill-tempered maniac we’ve all come to know and love.
“Or maybe I’d be the grizzled veteran who looked back at his career and his glory and wanted one last chance to relive it and be on top. Or finally making it to the mountaintop, whatever that means.
“This is the Anarky that First approves of… the one he wants to fight.
“But what kind of man does First perceive before him?
“First sees a man who doesn’t care at all. A man who thinks that trying is the first step to failing. A man who would rather complain than do anything…
“A man who apparently doesn’t understand the dangers of smoking, but, luckily, has someone smart and reasonable like First to lecture him about it. A man who cares so little about his own career that he won’t even consider the optimal amount of cardiovascular health required to beat someone as deeply committed and serious as The First. EPW’s Greatest Champion. Legend among legends. God among mortals and peasants.”
(He stops and lights up a cigarette. He takes a long drag and breaths out and coughs a little, but still seems immensely gratified. He stops at the waterfront and gazes out ahead of him.)
ANARKY: “I’m sorry, First, that I can’t be what you want me to be. What you NEED me to be. Because if I was that, I’d still only be something for you to use…
“I am The Other. Not a real human being. Not a man who has his own vision, his own dreams, his own perception of reality. None of these things matter to you.
“I am merely here to reflect your glory. To give you another hard-earned notch in your belt. To define you and your destiny. In the end, it isn’t really about me… I’m just a placeholder, an obstacle, something you’ll reflect upon in your autobiography about becoming the greatest champion of all-time.
“So it’s no wonder you misinterpret everything I say. I tell you that the seeking of selfish glory and name recognition is a fool’s game, and you hear me saying people shouldn’t even try to win matches. I say that there are more important things to me than a piece of metal, and you hear that nothing matters at all.
“I have grown weary of your accusations, First.
“What kind of human being are you? I know what kind of person you’re pretending to be. But inside… inside, I’m not so sure, First. It seems to me that in the end, you’re just another pretender to the throne. In the end, it isn’t about EPW, it isn’t about a legacy, it’s about you. You, you, and more you.
“It’s about how many kids buy your t-shirts and how many other wrestlers are talking about you. It’s about how you made all the right decisions and I didn’t. It’s about how you are in ideal peak physical condition and I’m not. It’s about how you are the perfect union of desire and ability, and I, I am just a used up old rag to be thrown away.
“Are you supposed to be a role model, First? Is this your legacy? Me, me, me? You’re just the guy out there making every right decision, and everybody else is just trash not fit to wipe the dogsh*t off your shoes? And people cheer you? This is what we’ve settled on as our hero? This is who we want to be?
“I want more, First. I expect more.
“See, I have been to the brink… I have known the cold embrace of nihilism and I have felt the warm glow of thousands of people cheering your name. I have felt the sharp sting of criticism from columnists and the soft claps of my comrades as I won awards for my achievements.
“But this isn’t enough for me. These are small things for small-minded men. Men like you, I guess, First. I want to believe you are so much more, but in the end, you seem content to convince me of your foregone superiority.
“I might as well not even show up, right? Why even bother. I’m just a lung-damaged, can’t-even-try nobody who doesn’t even seem to want to win. Because clearly, if I wanted to win, I’d be out here, subscribing to the Anarky you approve of, the one who threatens to maim, or the one who talks about one last shot at glory, because this is who you think I should be.
“You see a man before you who doesn’t want to win. A man who has already given up. Even though I have come this far, even though I am the 2010 King of the Cage, even though I haven’t been pinned in who f*cking knows how long, even though I’m still going out there, night after night, bein’ who I am, not talking about it, not bragging about it, not claiming I’m something I’m not, but just bein’ somethin’ I can live with… that ain’t enough for First.
“You disregard me with the wave of your hand. I am not worthy of challenging you. I am incapable of dethroning you because it has already been written.
“But I have something you don’t, First. I have something you can’t touch, no matter how hard you try.
“I believe in something more. Something bigger than me. Something bigger than you. Something bigger than that title.
“I believe a Champion can be great without having to brag about it. I believe a man can achieve glory without making it his all-consuming desire. I think a man can desire victory, can achieve victory, even if he knows that not every night will be his night.
“I believe a great man isn’t the man who think he’s perfect, who can find flaws in his opponents, who can list the reasons why he’s in peak physical conditioning and why he deserves this or why, but the man who knows that we are all the same, that we are all connected, that we need each other…
“I look back and I don’t know about the path I’ve carved here. I know I’ve made mistakes. I know that at times, my rage, my hatred… it became something else, and it was misdirected.
“But sometimes I can’t help it. I can’t listen to people like you anymore, First. I’m so sick and tired of hearing about me, me, me. So weary of the egomania and the car salesmen.
“I know that’s how this business is, First. I know that you can’t help it. You think this is the only way. You have to convince yourself that you’re perfect or else you might falter, you might slip, you might fail.
“And therein lies the fundamental difference between you and I, First. Your entire life, your entire reality, is built upon his fabrication, this illusion… you cannot lose because winning defines you. The belt defines you. It is everything. And without it, you lose validation. You lose yourself.
“I… I am a man. I will be a man no matter what happens at Unleashed. And if you manage to pin these shoulders, then kudos to you, sir, obviously you’ve made the grade, you’re smoke- and drug-free, a real credit to the cause, a real proof that if you just assume you can’t be beaten, then you can’t be.
“But there is another possibility, First. I might just go out there and try. I’ve done it before, once or twice, you know. Actually won a few matches here and there, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
“What happens, then, first? What happens if it’s me… if my hand is raised… what if a Champion can be someone new… someone who knows there is more to victory than bravado and confidence… that there is more to glory than the name of the champion… that there is… an idea… of what a Champion can be.
“What if, First?
“Time is almost upon us now, my friend. And you are as confident as ever. You ARE going to beat me… you ARE going to beat me..
“In your mind, First… you’ve already won. In your reality, I am unfit. Incapable. A laughable threat.
“But here… here in the real world… where humans are flawed, where any mistake can be your last, where the guy who smokes a pack a day might just want it more than you think he does…
“… anything can happen.”
(FADEOUT.)