What It's All About

[GreggG]

(CUT TO: Troy Windham, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, khaki slacks, and sandals. He's standing on a lush green lawn, overlooking the North Shore of Oahu. The waves crash at his private, backyard beach. Cradled in his right hand, as always, is the CSWA Unified Title.)

TROY: Well, I' sure the entire world is wondering what I'm doing here, in Hawaii, when in a few short weeks I'll be defending THIS (Troy holds up The Big Gold) -- the most prized possession in this industry. I want all of the fans at home watching this, whether you love me or despise me, to watch. I want all of my opponents to watch. Hell -- I want EVERYONE IN THIS INDUSTRY TO WATCH.

I'm not one to use cliches. They're best used by the countless hacks in this industry who have no idea of how to be original, of how to be their own person. But there's no other way to explain it than this: there comes a time in a man's life when he has to take all of his poker chips, push them in the pot, and go all in. That's what I'm doing at Gold Rush. I *WILL* win the Gold Rush and, as my longtime nemesis Eli Flair and his good-for-nothing glorified ring rat Poison Ivy have so eluqently put it, when I do, I *WILL* become the greatest champion this sport has ever seen. MY NAME will be the one that defines this industry, more than it even does today. MY NAME will be synonymous with GREATNESS. Babe. Mickey. Muhammad. Lance. Wayne. Michael. Larry. Those are one-person names that make you think of the greatest of all time in their respective sports. After Gold Rush, after I have defeated EVERY OTHER PERSON... my name will join that pantheon of greatness.

I want the camera to turn around and pan left. (The camera turns around and shows a huge stone house, off-white in color. Many rooms, a hot tub, a swimming pool, a large garage.) This is where I will be staying for the next month, until shortly before Gold Rush, where I will be staying in an undisclosed location. As you can imagine, a man of my importance is constantly in demand. My phones are ringing off the hook, from well-wishers like the Hilton sisters to every journalist in the world. My agents have been contacted by nearly every Hollywood studio, all of them wanting to pitch me a role.

My greatest strength has been my self-awareness. I know where I stand, and I know where my opponents stand. The one criticism I've always heard about my career is this: what would Troy Windham be if he did not have so many distractions? What heights would he have aspired to, if he concentrated solely on wrestling, as opposed to his Hollywood deals, his celebrity girlfriends, his love of the nightlife, his vast real-estate holdings, his many investment opportunities.

The one thing I have ALWAYS aspired to is to become the greatest wrestler the world has ever known. In a few short weeks, that opportunity is MINE for the taking. And that brings me here. I've had my many secretaries put all my calls on hold. No agents, no reporters, no well-wishers like the Hilton sisters will be contacting me here. There is one thing and one thing only on my mind. Retaining MY championship against an open field of challengers. That is my one quest. And for someone like Eli Flair, for Dan Ryan, for EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER DOUBTED ME... that is going to put a gulp in your throat.

The margarita you saw me drinking minutes ago was the last bit of play-time I'll be having for the next several weeks. I have purchased a house in a gated community, which has been staffed with the finest security team I could find. I have hired a nutritionist who is a scholar in his field, a teacher at one of the finest medical schools in the country. He has brought with him a chef, a man who will cook for me for the next several weeks. I have hired a wrestling coach whose last job, before I hired him away, was with the United States Freestyle Olympic Team. I have hired a Mixed Martial Arts teacher, a man who has trained several champions in various fields in that sport. I have brought with me four separate sparring partners, each of various skills and sizes, each to train with me. I have brought with me my personal trainer and have hired a new weight coach. I have turned a room in this house into a state of the art video center, where I have a staff doing nothing but finding me video clips of all of my opponents -- their matches, their interviews and any public appearance you can find. My sparring partners will be breaking down these tapes with me, and will adapt their styles to duplicate anyone I may share a ring with at Gold Rush. Another room has been turned into a world-class physical fitness center.

Also with me is a handpicked CSWA Television crew, here to process the comments from my opponents, and here to have me address them as well. These are the best professional in the television wrestling business. No time will be wasted waiting for a camera crew to white balance, no time wasted on how I feel about the final edit. My opponents responses will be shown to me and my retorts and my comments will be given without any wait.

Don't mistake any of this as a sign of weakness. Don't think for one second that I beleived I was unprepared headed into Gold Rush. Just know that I am setting the bar for this event, as I have done since the minute it has been announced. Everything I have achieved in my 31 years on this earth, all the millions I've made, is being spent to make sure that I obtain every single advantage I can find. I already own the mental advantage over each and every single one of you. I am the man everyone in this industry has been talking about for the past few weeks. People are no longer even daring to challenge me, but they're arguing with each other over who Troy Windham has humiliated more. The mental game is already won, and you all know that. But now I will also master the physical aspects of this, my ultimate challenge.

There is not one person I will not know everything about by the time that bell rings. If I find out that one of my opponents is running nine miles a day, I will run ten. If I find out one person is running ten miles a day, I will run eleven. If I hear that one of my opponents is adapting to a new style for this event, I will know how to not just counter it, but how to turn it to my advantage.

The partying and the nightlife I am so noted for will wait. But don't worry, it hasn't come to an end. At the end of all of this, I am going to have the biggest party the world has ever seen. I will land at one site in every time zone on this planet, non-stop, until even I have to say "hold the shots and hold the sex, no more for me." That's the type of party you can afford to have when you have defeated the entire wrestling world.

(Troy Windham holds up the title and then turns to his Hawaii estate. FTB)

 

[DBrunkGXW]

FADE IN.....

Standing on the front side of the Waterwall in the Texas Medical Center is Dan Ryan's Alter Ego, in Dan Ryan's body and Dan Ryan's clothes, wearing the same mask that Dan Ryan made. People mill by and around the area, headed for Hermann Park or the Zoo or some other such summer activity.

DRAE just stands, in the middle of his hometown on a nice sunny day - staring into the camera.

DRAE: "I have to say, Troy. That was some transformation you just made. And before our very eyes, you wiped the slate clean of your entire history didn't you? All of the weasely groveling and scheming, all of the s**ting on the sport and what it represents, all of those years of being the Troy Windham that everyone, for good reason, despises - gone in a flash."

"And how did you do it?"

"By promising to train."

"Gee, Troy. I'm so glad you're taking this thing so seriously. I guess I'm supposed to be inspired now, right? It's funny how for all of your talk you still absolutely beg for attention at every turn. You're not only getting serious about your training. You're out here taping it and making sure we all know how seriously you're taking it all - exactly hours after laughing off the entire thing as a bunch of pretenders. All of this training for what was yesterday a given and a cakewalk."

"This is the new Troy Windham, who now - after all these years - has decided to apply himself. In one night, you've become a gymrat and now....OHH HO HO....now it's ON, b!tches!"

"Well Troy, I call bulls**t."

"Bulls**t. Bulls**t. Bulls**t."

"I shut your ass up pretty quickly didn't I, Troy? Why? Because I have you pegged and you know it. Does that mean I'll beat you easily? Of course not. Nothing is ever as black and white as the children of this sport would make it out to be. To JA, you're either a legend or a jobber. To someone else you're either the greatest that ever lived or a weak promo because you only use two lines to embarrass someone verbally."

"That gray area is the one that we understand. Yeah, we. You understand it, and that's why you're in seclusion now. You've done a fine job of making sure that if you survive this event, the wrestling fanbase will look up and say....oh goody oh boy oh boy!! He finally applied himself, and now....truly now, he is a GOD. Oh, let's name a day after him, let's give Bolivians the day off on his birthday!! Let's slather up in body oil every second Tuesday to honor the great Troy Windham."

"And you're trying....you're trying HARD to act like this is the end. What, do you think it ends if you manage to squeak your way out of this thing? Did I say I was gonna stop coming after you after this?"

"This isn't Armageddon, Troy. This is just another battle. I could've held back and waited like you suggested, but like I said before and will now say again - I intend to hound you until the day you die. If I go oh-and-twenty against you, that's just how it has to be - because one way or another, I will beat you for that title."

"It's so ridiculous, too....."

DRAE morphs into a mock Troy Windham voice...

" 'I will have defeated the whole wrestling universe! I will be the greatest of all time! I am the Babe! I am Mickey! I am George Washington!' "

"Defeated the whole wrestling universe? As far as I can tell, you only have to beat four people to retain that title. Or did you fail to actually you know....read the RULES of this match?"

"You're training in seclusion in Hawaii and turning into the high tech Rocky of wrestling to defeat four people - and I bet, if you try really hard you could correctly predict which four it's gonna be with about 99% certainty. If anything, it's the rest of us who have to overcome the wrestling universe to get a shot at you. If anything...I'M the one that has overwhelming odds to overcome."

"You're simply competing in a glorified five-way dance. And to think, I don't even have to pin you. All I have to do is toss your lightweight ass over the top rope. Kinda puts a whole new perspective on things, doesn't it?"

"Knowing who you are doesn't make you anything but what I've always been, Troy. And that's saying that anyone believes that garbage to begin with. I've already pinpointed exactly who you are and what you are, what you stand for and what matters to you most. It's not even the belt that drives you. It's the attention and the inspired awe and devotion of legions of marked out fans that gets you right in that special place."

"After all these years, you still want and need acceptance. When you defeated me for that belt, you made a speech and turned the tables on the night - getting cheers and respect and blah blah blah blah blah. That's what you want, and that's what you need. And that's why you hesitate when making bold predictions where I'm concerned. I don't need a go**amned thing from you but that belt, and you know it. And it doesn't matter if I have to betray every last person in that audience, or the locker room or anywhere else to do it."

"I've prepared to take this title from you my whole life. I've risen above the dregs of this sport for years while trying to help out every last shmoe that wanted my name value to help their product and now?? Now, it's time for me to take what I rightfully deserve. You are absolutely not the best wrestler of all time. You're not the best wrestler of this era - and if you're Babe Ruth, then I'm f**kin' Hank Aaron."

"One toss, Troy. One toss. That's all it takes."

"You get to go on with your stupid little phantom hollywood scripts that no one's ever seen or actually heard about, cuddle up with your ten year old plastic Cable Ace Award and delve into whatever distractions you need to get off in life. I don't care, and I'm not impressed with you hiring a staff to work your tired ass out in an effort to survive four men or women."

"You might want to consider what it's gonna be like to face a guy who just outlasted an entire ring full of people just to get to you, the determination he brings and just how badly he is focused on putting himself on top of the wrestling world."

"It's gonna end as it should, Troy."

"You.....and I."

"And I don't have to pin you, Troy. But I will beat you."

"I will beat you."

FADE OUT....​

 

[Jay_Smash]

...So... The mental game is already won? Damn...

 

[GreggG]

FADE IN.....

Standing on the front side of the Waterwall in the Texas Medical Center is Dan Ryan's Alter Ego, in Dan Ryan's body and Dan Ryan's clothes, wearing the same mask that Dan Ryan made. People mill by and around the area, headed for Hermann Park or the Zoo or some other such summer activity.

DRAE just stands, in the middle of his hometown on a nice sunny day - staring into the camera.

DRAE: "I have to say, Troy. That was some transformation you just made. And before our very eyes, you wiped the slate clean of your entire history didn't you? All of the weasely groveling and scheming, all of the s**ting on the sport and what it represents, all of those years of being the Troy Windham that everyone, for good reason, despises - gone in a flash."

"And how did you do it?"

"By promising to train."

"Gee, Troy. I'm so glad you're taking this thing so seriously. I guess I'm supposed to be inspired now, right? It's funny how for all of your talk you still absolutely beg for attention at every turn. You're not only getting serious about your training. You're out here taping it and making sure we all know how seriously you're taking it all - exactly hours after laughing off the entire thing as a bunch of pretenders. All of this training for what was yesterday a given and a cakewalk."

"This is the new Troy Windham, who now - after all these years - has decided to apply himself. In one night, you've become a gymrat and now....OHH HO HO....now it's ON, b!tches!"

"Well Troy, I call bulls**t."

"Bulls**t. Bulls**t. Bulls**t."

"I shut your ass up pretty quickly didn't I, Troy? Why? Because I have you pegged and you know it. Does that mean I'll beat you easily? Of course not. Nothing is ever as black and white as the children of this sport would make it out to be. To JA, you're either a legend or a jobber. To someone else you're either the greatest that ever lived or a weak promo because you only use two lines to embarrass someone verbally."

"That gray area is the one that we understand. Yeah, we. You understand it, and that's why you're in seclusion now. You've done a fine job of making sure that if you survive this event, the wrestling fanbase will look up and say....oh goody oh boy oh boy!! He finally applied himself, and now....truly now, he is a GOD. Oh, let's name a day after him, let's give Bolivians the day off on his birthday!! Let's slather up in body oil every second Tuesday to honor the great Troy Windham."

"And you're trying....you're trying HARD to act like this is the end. What, do you think it ends if you manage to squeak your way out of this thing? Did I say I was gonna stop coming after you after this?"

"This isn't Armageddon, Troy. This is just another battle. I could've held back and waited like you suggested, but like I said before and will now say again - I intend to hound you until the day you die. If I go oh-and-twenty against you, that's just how it has to be - because one way or another, I will beat you for that title."

"It's so ridiculous, too....."

DRAE morphs into a mock Troy Windham voice...

" 'I will have defeated the whole wrestling universe! I will be the greatest of all time! I am the Babe! I am Mickey! I am George Washington!' "

"Defeated the whole wrestling universe? As far as I can tell, you only have to beat four people to retain that title. Or did you fail to actually you know....read the RULES of this match?"

"You're training in seclusion in Hawaii and turning into the high tech Rocky of wrestling to defeat four people - and I bet, if you try really hard you could correctly predict which four it's gonna be with about 99% certainty. If anything, it's the rest of us who have to overcome the wrestling universe to get a shot at you. If anything...I'M the one that has overwhelming odds to overcome."

"You're simply competing in a glorified five-way dance. And to think, I don't even have to pin you. All I have to do is toss your lightweight ass over the top rope. Kinda puts a whole new perspective on things, doesn't it?"

"Knowing who you are doesn't make you anything but what I've always been, Troy. And that's saying that anyone believes that garbage to begin with. I've already pinpointed exactly who you are and what you are, what you stand for and what matters to you most. It's not even the belt that drives you. It's the attention and the inspired awe and devotion of legions of marked out fans that gets you right in that special place."

"After all these years, you still want and need acceptance. When you defeated me for that belt, you made a speech and turned the tables on the night - getting cheers and respect and blah blah blah blah blah. That's what you want, and that's what you need. And that's why you hesitate when making bold predictions where I'm concerned. I don't need a go**amned thing from you but that belt, and you know it. And it doesn't matter if I have to betray every last person in that audience, or the locker room or anywhere else to do it."

"I've prepared to take this title from you my whole life. I've risen above the dregs of this sport for years while trying to help out every last shmoe that wanted my name value to help their product and now?? Now, it's time for me to take what I rightfully deserve. You are absolutely not the best wrestler of all time. You're not the best wrestler of this era - and if you're Babe Ruth, then I'm f**kin' Hank Aaron."

"One toss, Troy. One toss. That's all it takes."

"You get to go on with your stupid little phantom hollywood scripts that no one's ever seen or actually heard about, cuddle up with your ten year old plastic Cable Ace Award and delve into whatever distractions you need to get off in life. I don't care, and I'm not impressed with you hiring a staff to work your tired ass out in an effort to survive four men or women."

"You might want to consider what it's gonna be like to face a guy who just outlasted an entire ring full of people just to get to you, the determination he brings and just how badly he is focused on putting himself on top of the wrestling world."

"It's gonna end as it should, Troy."

"You.....and I."

"And I don't have to pin you, Troy. But I will beat you."

"I will beat you."

FADE OUT....​

(CUT TO: "Big Man On Campus" JJ DeVille, wearing a NC State Varsity jacket, sitting with a cafeteria tray of low-carb foods in a university dining hall.)

JJ: Mr. Ryan, I don't know how much you know about me, considering your stature here in this sport. One of the finest wrestlers of his generation. A man who has managed to create the EPW, one of the greatest wrestling leagues going today. And I'm just little old me, JJ DeVille, the former lackey to Eddy Love, the man who used to mow Troy Windham's lawn.

I know I'm not exactly someone on your radar... (JJ says this derisively) DANNY. But I will be soon enough. Because, Dan Ryan's Altar Ego... IF THAT IS INDEED YOUR REAL NAME... I have the one thing that you're dreaming of having, the one thing that you're borderline obsessive about. I have pinned Troy Windham in the middle of a CSWA wrestling ring. I could let you in on the secret of how I got over the hump while you've failed on two separate occassions... (JJ smiles) but that'd be ruining all of the fun, now, wouldn't it?

Dan Ryan, you and I might end up in the same wrestling ring at Gold Rush. The lottery hasn't been announced, yet, so there's a good chance you could end up seeing me on the list in your ring. You're a giant of a man. Coming in at what, 6 foot 8 or so? Weighing in close to 300 pounds? All with, like, six percent body fat and the ability to run a 40 in 4.3 seconds? And I'm just little old me -- actually (JJ takes a bit out a peeled banana), I'm not so little anymore... and I did it all naturally and not like you, with your HGH supplements... I'm giving you warning right now, Dan Ryan do NOT overlook me. Because when people overlook The Big Man On Campus, The New Original JJ DeVille... that's when they get defeated.

Y'see, I'm the Ultimate Cinderella Story. The George Mason of the Gold Rush. You're a sure-fired #1 seed, one of the favorites in Vegas... and I'm the little regarded darkhorse. But you see, this is my opportunity of a lifetime. A lifetime spent reading comic books on a Friday night, a lifetime watching wrestling tapes instead of going to the prom. Now, that little kid with bad hair, acne and an unfortunate wardrobe is going to blossom right before the eyes of everyone in this sport... I'm the understudy whose about to steal the thunder from all the leading men. I'm the one, after Gold Rush is over, that everyone is going to be talking about. They'll still be talking about you, Danny... but not for the way you want.

So, overlook me at your own peril. Because that's when I beat people. (JJ cuts into his rib-eye.) Actually, you know what? Even when I'm not overlooked... I still beat people. You can even ask the man on top who apparently owns your ass all about me. (JJ takes a bite of his steak. FTB.)