San Jose, California - Monday, October 02, 2006
“Douchebags…
Assholes…
Freaks…
Perverts…
More douchebags…
More assholes…
More freaks…
More perverts…
Stupid fucking trends.
Stupid, repetitive fucking trends.
Stupid, boring, repetitive fucking trends.
Since when did this shit become entertainment?
Since when were there so many fucking people out on a Monday night? Don’t they have work or school to go to tomorrow?
What the hell is this world coming to?
What the hell is wrong with these people?
I forgot how much I hated California.”
“Talking to yourself there?” Lee Stone’s face rises up from looking at the concrete pavement as he walked along it, to see the black and white sneakers that belong to long legs. The skin is dark, but not like an African American. More like a Latin woman. And yes… in case you were wondering, the legs do belong to a woman. Lee’s eyes move up past her black skirt, and then past the red shirt wrapped in a black jacket, to see her face. Full, scarlet lips; a small, rounded nose; mysterious brown eyes; long, flowing black hair… there is no question about her beauty. The question lies with how Lee will respond to her.
He stops next to her on the pavement. A streetlight puts a spotlight around them that separates them from the slight darkness around them. Various clubs and bars are littered along the street that they stand on the side of in the heart of San Jose. His arms are folded around his chest, with his own brown jacket open to reveal the white shirt underneath. In the centre of the shirt is a large picture of Lee’s own face, grinning with two thumbs raised on either side. It’s an amateur job, not a professional piece of XWF merchandise. Lee shuffles his shoulders as he cocks his head to the side to face her. With his body turned away, he licks his lips and nods before talking.
“I prefer to call it ‘mumbling to myself’,” he says as she turns to face him completely. He glances down the street a bit, as if he’s distant from the conversation. “Saying that ‘I talk to myself’ makes me sound a bit crazy.”
“Just a bit,” she agrees, smiling to herself. “So what were you mumbling to yourself about?” Lee looks around again. Taking a brief moment before he replies, he first points to one of the buildings.
“You see that nightclub? Those douchebags in there are jiving out to whatever techno tune is hot these days, when the large majority of them need to go to school or college tomorrow, and those who don’t will still have something important to do because all I see in there is youth, and they have their whole future ahead of them. No matter what they’re doing though… I doubt that a hangover will help them out much.” He turns his head back to looking at her, while his body still points in another direction. She’s a little taken back to begin with.
“Wow, that’s deep,” is all she can manage to say.
“You fuckin’ right it’s deep.” His body turns in to her as he points towards another building. “Those assholes in that sports bar there should be at home with their families, but instead their getting pissed with their mates while they watch Monday Night Football, some wrestling show or any other kind of ‘manly’ sporting event. Surely they have a TV in their lounges, right? Apparently not.”
“That may be true, but it’s not your problem to deal with. It’s theirs.” You know, most people wouldn’t have much to say in response to comments like this from Lee. Gotta love that Latino passion though.
“That’s exactly right,” he says in agreement. He then points to another building “But even so, you see those freaks in that ‘badass’ underground club? They aren’t my problem either, but it doesn’t stop me from wishing that they could get some lessons in social skills. I mean, If they’re so angry at being rejected by society, why the hell don’t they do something about it?”
“Why do you care?” she asks, as if it’s a simple question for anybody to answer. But the scary thing is, for Lee it is a simple question to answer.
“Because somebody has to. Nobody takes ownership for their problems anymore. Everybody is so keen to push them off onto the nearest person. Everybody wants to forget about them. And here I am. I’m willing to let everybody push their problems on me. Because by taking on their problems, it gives me more of an excuse to avoid my own.” He sighs, finally getting that off his chest must be a big relief. But has it been placed upon shoulders strong enough to hold it? The woman before Lee is still a stranger. Hell, Lee is still a stranger to her as well. How would you feel if some completely random person started dropping this heavy shit on you?
“You know,” she says while shrugging. Shrugging! Can you believe it? Everything Lee just placed on her shoulders has been shrugged off to the ground. “Perhaps crazy wasn’t such a bad word to describe you after all.”
“Perhaps…” the corner of Lee’s mouth rises up in a slight smile. He then raises his hand once again and points to another building. “But then again, maybe I’m just trying to stop more of those perverts at the strip joint being created. Sixty years old plus sixty dollars equals something that I just don’t want to think about.” And there it is. There is the typical Lee Stone comment. It’s hard to tell what’s going on in his mind. We know him as the goofy, loudmouth character he portrays in the ring, and surely that is a part of him, but can you honestly tell me that the emphasis he placed on desire against Andrew Gibson and Jason Mudd was the characteristic of an egomaniac? Can you really tell me that everything he just said, and everything he said in the bar back in Denver, were common things you’d hear from a cocky jackass? This is some “more than meets the eye” like the Transformers shit.
The woman laughs and shuffles from side to side. Lee’s teeth bare as the smile grows larger on his own face. His arms folded across his chest lower themselves a bit.
Laughter: the universal language.
“I like that, she forces out as her laughter dies down. “You’re honest. That’s hard to find these days.”
“We’re a dying breed. Everybody wants to be what they see on TV nowadays,” he says, moving his head as if to say ‘what can ya do about it?’
“And so why are you different to the rest?” she says with a tone in her voice that won’t play to Lee’s ego.
“Because I already am on TV,” he solemnly replies. “But that’s the last thing I want to talk about right now.”
“Can you at least tell me what show you’re on?” she begs.
“I’m an athlete,” is all he replies with. “That’s all you really need to know.”
“Wow,” she exclaims. “An athlete who actually has a brain on his shoulders that’s capable of empathizing with the world. I think you’re a unique person Mr… uhh… I don’t think I even know your name.”
“Well I never gave it, so unless the recent conversation has been entirely pointless and you already know who I am, then I wouldn’t expect you to know my name.” Is it really that hard to simply answer a statement like the one she just made with a simple answer?
“My name’s Vikki,” she says, extending her hand out towards Lee. “Short for Victoria.”
“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance Victoria. I’m Bruce.” Lee shakes her hand firmly yet gently at the same time. Why did he introduce himself as his middle name? Could it have anything to do with the anonymity he seems to be enjoying while in this woman’s company? “The question I now ask of you is what would a lovely woman such as yourself be doing out on her own at this time of night?”
“I could ask the same about an athlete such as yourself,” she says with just a hint of enjoyment behind her words.
“That you could, but the difference is that we both know I asked you first. Plus, being that I presume I’m the only male in this conversation, it’d be much safer and make more sense for me to be out on my own at night.” He winks in confidence.
“Fair enough,” she says, realizing how futile it is to argue with a stubborn man who can occasionally work verbal magic. “If you must know though, I just finished work at a club similar to the one that the “douchebags” can be found in, and am on the way to meeting some friends at another bar. Your turn.”
“I’m in town on business and have nothing to do. I used to live in L.A. but haven’t been in Cali as a whole for a while now. I arrived this morning and figured I’d readjust myself to the different environment here. Even the air is different to the rest of the country.” Lee screws his face up as he realizes that despite speaking enough to answer the question, he hasn’t really answered it at all. “Truth be told, I guess I don’t really have a reason to be out. I just am.”
“Well if you’d like something to do, you could come with me to meet my friends and have a few drinks.” She throws the suggestion out there and Lee raises an eyebrow at it.
“You’re inviting a guy you’ve just met to step out of the security that this streetlamp provides, and then to escort you to a location where your friends are waiting for you?” He chuckles a little. “That’s a bit forward isn’t it?”
“Trust me…” she giggles a little while she talks. “You’re not exactly my type.”
“Well now that’s just plain hard to believe.” And now the ego comes full on. To those of you wondering how egos are maintained, let me tell you this: true egos are maintained by the people around the person that the ego belongs to.
“I’m just not into the whole pretty boy thing,” she says, crushing Lee’s ego with one metaphorical hand. “Plus that’s one of the reasons I don’t think you’re going to violate me or anything along those lines.”
“I’m not sure whether or not to be complimented or offended right now, so based upon the size advantage I have on you I’m going to assume that you’re not trying to tick me off. Am I correct Victoria?” For some reason Lee has a habit of using people’s full names when they’re otherwise abbreviated and using their real names when they have an alias. He’d be a crap spy.
“Correct,” Vikki replies. “So are you in?”
“Sure, it’s not like I’ve got anything better to do.” Lee just makes the people around him feel so special doesn’t he? “Where is this place?”
“Just down here actually.” She motions towards a small opening between two buildings. Vikki then moves out of the streetlight and towards the dark alley. “You coming?”
“Why do I get the feeling that I’m going to be the one getting violated?” He asks in his smart ass tone, as he steps out of the light and follows Vikki down the alley. As it emerges into the dim moonlight behind the buildings, Lee sees the golden glow of light flowing out from underneath a door. Vikki heads straight for the door and pushes it open, with Lee following right behind her. Lee steps into what appears to be a relaxed bar. It’s a mixed ethnic representation inside the bar, as well as a mixed age representation and basically a mixed everything. A relaxed atmosphere.
“This is Cali’s best kept secret. Or at least San Jose’s. Come on.” Lee looks around at the people in the bar, then follows Vikki over to a table where a group of around eight people. They all greet her, one white woman even kissing her on the lips. Then it clicks for Lee. She’s a lesbian. That’s why he’s not her type. Suffering from a quick bout of homophobia, he glances around the room to make sure he’s not in a gay club. His answer is given by a man and woman making out in one corner. It’s not a gay bar. Vikki then turns everybody’s attention towards Lee. She introduces him using the name he gave her. “Everybody, this is my friend Bruce. Bruce… this is everybody.”
“How you doing everybody?” he says with a quick wave of the hand.
“A pretty boy eh?” a clearly Canadian man sitting in the corner says. His roughly shaven face combined with his messy but stylish hair gives the impression that he tries to hard. It’s about time somebody put him in place.
“You know, the next person who refers to me as “pretty” is going to have their face rearranged so much that even after plastic surgery they won’t even make the cut to be called ugly.” Lee shoots a killer look at the Canadian who almost recoils into his clothes. A hefty bald man next to him bursts into laughter and pats the Canadian on the shoulder as he looks in Lee’s direction.
“Originality! I like it! Somebody get this man a beer!” And before Lee even knows it, Vikki has placed a handle in his hand. She leans in close to him and holds up her hand.
“Here, take this.” She opens her hand to reveal a small pill. “It’ll help you clear your mind of all those thoughts you had earlier.”
“Well…” Lee says, as he buys time to think of what to do. “You know… why the hell not?” He takes the pill into his hand and places it into his mouth. He then raises the beer to his lips, pours it in and swallows…
San Jose, California – Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Sitting out on the balcony of his hotel room as the sun hangs low in the morning sky, Lee sips from a glass of water. The sounds of traffic below draw his attention downwards, but after seeing nothing interesting he takes another sip of water. He has blue wool socks on his feet that are pulled all the way up to his knees, where his white board shorts meet them. Turning around to face the camera, he leans back against the railing with his faded red shirt pressed against it.
“What are we going to do with you Danny Boy? Methinks you’re going a bit loopy, and I’m not just talking about whatever Mike Raboin pumped you full of. Look on the bright side of it all though, you’re supposed to be religious so how about you pray to God that what Mike injected into you is some sense, because you could sure use it. In fact, while we’re on this subject, the entire XWF needs some sense and I’m going to give them a chance to obtain it right now, so listen up!
Every last one of you looks at the Blood Hounds as the most dominant group in XWF history. Why? Fucked if I know. This isn’t even the Blood Hounds we’re facing. Now I know it’s not an original idea to talk about how Dynamic Dynamite and Arson are like the Hounds ‘B Team’ but truth be told, they’re not even that. Sewaside was one of the Hounds ‘B Team’. Shawn Storm was one of the Hounds ‘B Team’. Dynamite and Arson are so far down the list it’s almost embarrassing for them. Now I say “almost” even though they probably are ashamed of themselves, because I just don’t have the ability to feel sorry for them. They dug their grave and now I’m going to have to bury them in it.
I always get asked, “Lee Stone! Why are you so confident?” And I always give the same answer, I’m confident because I know deep down in my heart that I’m better than my opponent in every way. I’m not exactly a rocket scientist here, but when it comes to the actions inside that ring, I’m most definitely the smartest around. And here’s an example of that ring intelligence showing through: I know about the Hounds. And when I say “know”, I mean I really know about the Hounds. I know more about them than the current members list does! That’s how I know that Sewaside isn’t an original Hound, much like Dynamite and Arson aren’t. That’s how I know that the Blood Hounds originally split off from a group called Black Blood and they consisted of T Money, Kid Money, my old mentor Psyko Stevo and some dude called Tristam. That’s where the “Blood” part of the name comes from. I know what I’m dealing with more than they do. But the thing we’re left to ask, is what am I going to do with that knowledge? How does this knowledge help me? Well what I then need to do is look at why they’ve lasted for as long as they have, and it’s a simple answer: competition. Not with other people, but within their own group. Take a look at any interaction between T and Kid and you’ll see two people who constantly want to one-up each other. That’s what’s kept them afloat for so long. They’ve always tried to start wars that will elevate them to a new level. That’s why secretly, T needs me. Without a definitive way to end his Universal Title reign, he would’ve set a bar too high for Kid or recruit number one Sewaside to surpass. And then after they tried for so damn long, they’d give up, and they’d fall. But this incarnation of the Hounds… they’re different.
Let’s look at the members list: Dynamic Dynamite, Arson, Star, Tyger Lilly and Sabrina Wilson. We have two star players here, pardon the pun, in Star and Dynamite. But do you really think Star is going to make it to the Universal Title? I sure as hell don’t. And it’s not a sexist comment as I’m well aware of Kitten being a former Universal Champ. Nor is it a shot at her ability, as she is one of the most talented female wrestlers I’ve ever seen. All it is, is a shot at the level of competition she’s been facing. She’s not exactly up against Universal Title caliber opponents, and therefore, she’s not in the Universal Title mind frame. Dynamite… he is. So that leaves him at the top. That leaves him as the king of the mountain. In a group that at one stage looked to contain too many impact players, he now stands alone. There is no longer anybody to push him. And this is where the Hounds will falter. This is how we strike. I stand here and tell this directly to you Dynamite. I say this directly to you Star, Arson, Sabrina and Lilly. You’re weak. As soon as Dynamite is crushed… you will fade away. And Dynamite will be crushed, mark my words there.
It’s kind of funny though. Here I am, telling you exactly what the future holds for you, yet I doubt any of you will do a damn thing about it. Here I am, telling you that the strongest part of your chain is actually weak. And that’s where I’ll target. Good luck trying to counteract it as well, because good things take time… and I’ve got plenty of time on my hands.
This message now goes to the rest of the XWF roster: don’t be stupid. Go on with your careers. Fight for your meager salaries. Leave the problems to those who know how to handle them. Leave the problems to people like Lee Stone. Leave the problems to people like Mike Raboin. Hell… leave the problems to people like Cyren. We’ve all been the source of problems before, so we know how to take care of them. The rest of you, and this includes you BoonDock Saint, need to make sure you just stay out of our way.
But Dan, you’re not going to do that are you? No. As I said last time, you seem to have lost the ability to think. Long story short: you’re an idiot. Go on and tell me about how you have problems with what I’ve said. Stamp your feet and shake your first to show how dang angry you are. Whine again, you seem to love to do that. Do all this, and then come back to me and here’s what I’ll say to you. You’re still a douche. You’re still a joke of a champion. You’re still a joke full stop. My how soon people forget what goes on around them. You were in Dynasty Wrestling, yet you still forget what happened to the XWF. You were on the same side as Jonathyn Brown and Fran Damage over there, yet you still forget everything that they said. Maybe you’ve taken one too many shots to the head lately. Maybe your memory is worse than that of a goldfish. But let me refresh your memory. I’ll say it nice and loud so it gets into your thick skull:
THE XWF CLOSED DOWN BECAUSE OF JON PAGE.
Jesus Christ, you’re just digging for something to call me on right now. Are you really stupid enough to think I don’t have that X Factor? Are you really stupid enough to think that your minimal experience in this business makes you a better judge of these things than a man like Jon Brown, who called me up personally to request assistance in the removal of T Money from his company, despite you saying that T has that X Factor I apparently lack. If you want to look for self-absorbed promos, look no further than yourself you fucking moron.
I need the approval of others? If that’s the case, then why am I standing here telling you to go fuck yourself? Are you not a person? Should I not want your approval? Should I not have wanted Steve Jason’s approval, instead of walking into Lord of the Ring 2003 with a clear purpose in mind of stomping a hole in him? Should I not have wanted Jem William’s to know how talented I am in our first confrontation, rather than sneaking off with a victory from under his nose? Newsflash Dan, I don’t give a fuck what people think of me. When I joined Fully Loaded in 2003 with Jon Page and Psyko Stevo, I caused problems within that same group because I refused to be pushed down. I beat Psyko Stevo, one of the fucking leaders of the group in the X-Mas X-Treme tournament because I didn’t care if they kicked me out. I had the Vigilantes on side to create a unified front against jackasses like the Hounds and Ch(censored). I’m assisting the White Order because they have the same goals in mind as I do. And that goal is to smack some sense back into people like you. To keep the egos in check rather than letting them boom. Now I know you’ll probably throw in some comment about my own ego here, because it appears to be the ‘in thing’ these days, but Dan… try to tell me that my ego isn’t justified. That’s the point I always raise and it’s the point nobody has anything to say to. You’re no different to anybody else Dan. You have nothing to base any of your opinions of me off.
Come on and give me another goofy New Zealand joke. It just goes to show how much classier than you I am, because I don’t stand here and take shots at America for being warmongers. Get your little Court Jester buddy to make some shit up. Does he even have a brain in that goofy head of his? I mean, God damn, saying “New Zealand has never made a World Cup” I was one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard. First, what world cup is he talking about? I’ll presume Soccer, because we have a Rugby World Cup reign under our belts already and within the next two tournaments are bound to have at least one more, because in 2011 the tournament is actually being held in New Zealand, and it’s been a very, very long time since we’ve lost at home. So even if it is soccer, we have been in the World Cup before so uhh… what the fuck is he talking about?
What’s so damn good about Ghana anyway? Let’s compare it to New Zealand, shall we? GNP per capita? New Zealand wins. Life expectancy? New Zealand wins. Literacy rates? New Zealand wins. Infant mortality? New Zealand has a lower rate, so we win. You see a trend here? And when it all boils down to the human development index, which takes into account all these factors, New Zealand is sitting at 18th in the world, while Ghana is down at 133. Ooh… did I just fuck over his credibility? No… I didn’t. But I will right now. Nobody gives a fuck if you’re a prince. Ghana is a damn democracy, so you’re position means about as much as the drug addict Prince Harry. Actually, it means less, because Ghana is a former British colony. You weren’t expecting that were you? Like I said though, when it comes to the XWF, nobody matches my intelligence. I know more about most of you than you know about yourselves. So please Prince Akeem, talk up your boy. Please BoonDock Saint, talk up yourself. Believe you can beat me. Because when you fail for the third time, it’ll make me feel so much happier knowing you tried your hardest. And it will prove everything I say… right. Because you’re not the greatest wrestler in the world, that title falls squarely on my shoulders. Have a bad day Dan…
Peace…”
We fade out from the scene, leaving Lee to his own devices.