BLACK DAWN: Melton vs. Cruise
- Thread starter DBrunkGXW
- Start date
Steve
the EX-QUEEN of FW~!
(FADEIN: Close-up on a black leather couch. The shot holds for a second before a hand, covered by an old white sock, shoots into frame. Sad, beaten purple eyes are colored onto the sock, and the words “Separate whites and colors.”)
SOCK: (in a high-pitched voice) Hey look! It’s the EPW crew! Oh boy oh boy oh boy! Have you come all the way to Tampa, just to talk to me?
(beat)
SOCK: Awesome! What am I you may be asking yourself? And a good question indeed! A sock? A dream? Somebody’s dirty laundry? Hehehehe. I’m an inanimate object given life by Mister Melton. A puppet, as you can plainly see. I consider myself more performer than anything. And today I’d like to share with you a little piece recently written by yours truly. Entitled, “SOCK CRUISE: One tube’s redemption, and then ultimately, betrayal of his maker.”
Let’s begin.
(Sock Cruise shyly turns from the camera.)
(Beat.)
(He dramatically turns back, arches his back to the heavens and SIGHS.)
SOCK CRUISE: Why? Whyyyyy me, Mercedes? What have I done? I’m just a poor boy, nobody loves me. My best intentions fail me. I can’t catch a break, I can’t…I can’t…I can’t…
(Sock Mercedes, a tighter fitting tube with a cocktail dress colored on, comes into frame.)
SOCK MERCEDES: Don’t say can’t, Cammy!
SOCK CRUISE: Well, how else am I supposed to explain my utter failure in the ring? I’m such a fraud, Mercedes. Billed as a professional, but so sloppy, and second-rate in the ring. It’s only a matter of time before I stop getting bookings.
SOCK MERCEDES: That’s not true!
SOCK CRUISE: Uh huh! I get work now, because I’m thought of as a mascot. Some half-wit, real, honest, God-fearin’ talented people like to keep to kick around.
SOCK MERCEDES: Oh shut your mouth!
SOCK CRUISE: Why can’t I meet someone to show me the way? Why can’t this poor, lonely slave find his rightful master? The dominant one who will mold me into a man, and take me riches I don’t rightly deserve?
(beat)
(SFX: KNOCK! KNOCK!)
SOCK MERCEDES: A knock on the door! Maybe it’s an answer to your prayers…
(Mercedes slips down, Sock Cruise walks across the frame to the door.)
(SFX: Creakkkkkkkkkk)
SOCK CRUISE: Door’s open, come in.
(A fiery Red Tube comes into frame, pitchfork glued to its body.)
SOCK CRUISE: Satan??
SOCK SATAN: Dude, nice house. But, we can do better. Five dollars please.
(Beat)
(Socks leave stage.)
END OF ACT I.
SOCK: (in a high-pitched voice) Hey look! It’s the EPW crew! Oh boy oh boy oh boy! Have you come all the way to Tampa, just to talk to me?
(beat)
SOCK: Awesome! What am I you may be asking yourself? And a good question indeed! A sock? A dream? Somebody’s dirty laundry? Hehehehe. I’m an inanimate object given life by Mister Melton. A puppet, as you can plainly see. I consider myself more performer than anything. And today I’d like to share with you a little piece recently written by yours truly. Entitled, “SOCK CRUISE: One tube’s redemption, and then ultimately, betrayal of his maker.”
Let’s begin.
(Sock Cruise shyly turns from the camera.)
(Beat.)
(He dramatically turns back, arches his back to the heavens and SIGHS.)
SOCK CRUISE: Why? Whyyyyy me, Mercedes? What have I done? I’m just a poor boy, nobody loves me. My best intentions fail me. I can’t catch a break, I can’t…I can’t…I can’t…
(Sock Mercedes, a tighter fitting tube with a cocktail dress colored on, comes into frame.)
SOCK MERCEDES: Don’t say can’t, Cammy!
SOCK CRUISE: Well, how else am I supposed to explain my utter failure in the ring? I’m such a fraud, Mercedes. Billed as a professional, but so sloppy, and second-rate in the ring. It’s only a matter of time before I stop getting bookings.
SOCK MERCEDES: That’s not true!
SOCK CRUISE: Uh huh! I get work now, because I’m thought of as a mascot. Some half-wit, real, honest, God-fearin’ talented people like to keep to kick around.
SOCK MERCEDES: Oh shut your mouth!
SOCK CRUISE: Why can’t I meet someone to show me the way? Why can’t this poor, lonely slave find his rightful master? The dominant one who will mold me into a man, and take me riches I don’t rightly deserve?
(beat)
(SFX: KNOCK! KNOCK!)
SOCK MERCEDES: A knock on the door! Maybe it’s an answer to your prayers…
(Mercedes slips down, Sock Cruise walks across the frame to the door.)
(SFX: Creakkkkkkkkkk)
SOCK CRUISE: Door’s open, come in.
(A fiery Red Tube comes into frame, pitchfork glued to its body.)
SOCK CRUISE: Satan??
SOCK SATAN: Dude, nice house. But, we can do better. Five dollars please.
(Beat)
(Socks leave stage.)
END OF ACT I.
Steve
the EX-QUEEN of FW~!
(FADEIN: Sock Cruise walks into a bar (stop me if you’ve heard this one before) and sees the man who will change his life.)
SOCK CRUISE: Ja---
SOCK MELTON: Jesus? Who’s asking?
(A clean, magnificent sock comes into frame, actual blonde hair stitched into it’s head, and a Fonzie leather jacket colored over it’s body.)
SOCK CRUISE: You’re Joey Melton!
SOCK MELTON: Hey…(looks down pants) I am. Whoohoo.
SOCK CRUISE: I think…I was supposed to meet you here. You’re my…density. I mean…my destiny.
SOCK MELTON: A bit deep for a Wednesday night, but yeah, more or less. You got the money?
(Sock Cruise forks over the Five.)
SOCK CRUISE: It’s all there. Count it.
SOCK MELTON: I trust you. Now, I understand you’re a bit of a sad sack, shall we say? Winless, hair lip, general bad karma following you like white on rice.
SOCK CRUISE: Oh my gosh, you KNOW ME!
SOCK MELTON: Are you ready to submit yourself to me, totally? Train as hard as I say, eat what I tell you, listen to the music I put on for you, bring me my wallstreet quotes in the morning, my paper, and read from my favorite blogs?
SOCK CRUISE: Boy, AM I!
SOCK MELTON: Splendid. Now, I require a milkshake. Scoot.
(END SCENE)
(FADEIN: Sock Cruise and Sock Melton in a locker room, spraying each other with champagne.)
SOCK CRUISE: Tag champs! I…I would have never believed…
SOCK MELTON: And that is why you failed.
(Sock Mercedes, scantily dressed, runs across the scene as Melton and Cruise pepper her with bubbly.)
(END SCENE)
(FADEIN: Sock Cruise and Sock Melton at a trendy L.A. Club, being aloof and desirable as a Strokes Cover band plays on stage.)
SOCK CRUISE: I could have never gotten in here before…before meeting you.
SOCK MELTON. Nothing’s too good for my friends. Drink up, eat, drink, and be Merry, for tomorrow we die.
SOCK CRUISE: Huh?
(END SCENE.)
(FADEIN: Sock Cruise and Melton, dressed as a Cruise captain and his first mate, look over the edge of a cruise ship, the Pacific ocean nipping at their heels, and ponder about their place in the universe.)
SOCK CRUISE: Did I ever thank you for saving my life?
SOCK MELTON: No.
SOCK CRUISE: Okay.
(END ACT II)
SOCK CRUISE: Ja---
SOCK MELTON: Jesus? Who’s asking?
(A clean, magnificent sock comes into frame, actual blonde hair stitched into it’s head, and a Fonzie leather jacket colored over it’s body.)
SOCK CRUISE: You’re Joey Melton!
SOCK MELTON: Hey…(looks down pants) I am. Whoohoo.
SOCK CRUISE: I think…I was supposed to meet you here. You’re my…density. I mean…my destiny.
SOCK MELTON: A bit deep for a Wednesday night, but yeah, more or less. You got the money?
(Sock Cruise forks over the Five.)
SOCK CRUISE: It’s all there. Count it.
SOCK MELTON: I trust you. Now, I understand you’re a bit of a sad sack, shall we say? Winless, hair lip, general bad karma following you like white on rice.
SOCK CRUISE: Oh my gosh, you KNOW ME!
SOCK MELTON: Are you ready to submit yourself to me, totally? Train as hard as I say, eat what I tell you, listen to the music I put on for you, bring me my wallstreet quotes in the morning, my paper, and read from my favorite blogs?
SOCK CRUISE: Boy, AM I!
SOCK MELTON: Splendid. Now, I require a milkshake. Scoot.
(END SCENE)
(FADEIN: Sock Cruise and Sock Melton in a locker room, spraying each other with champagne.)
SOCK CRUISE: Tag champs! I…I would have never believed…
SOCK MELTON: And that is why you failed.
(Sock Mercedes, scantily dressed, runs across the scene as Melton and Cruise pepper her with bubbly.)
(END SCENE)
(FADEIN: Sock Cruise and Sock Melton at a trendy L.A. Club, being aloof and desirable as a Strokes Cover band plays on stage.)
SOCK CRUISE: I could have never gotten in here before…before meeting you.
SOCK MELTON. Nothing’s too good for my friends. Drink up, eat, drink, and be Merry, for tomorrow we die.
SOCK CRUISE: Huh?
(END SCENE.)
(FADEIN: Sock Cruise and Melton, dressed as a Cruise captain and his first mate, look over the edge of a cruise ship, the Pacific ocean nipping at their heels, and ponder about their place in the universe.)
SOCK CRUISE: Did I ever thank you for saving my life?
SOCK MELTON: No.
SOCK CRUISE: Okay.
(END ACT II)
Steve
the EX-QUEEN of FW~!
(FADEIN: Sock Melton dancing alone in a hallway, life is good, he wants nothing more. The air’s never felt this sweet.)
(Sock Cruise comes into frame. A look of disgust, and jealously etched on his face. He stares at Melton with hateful eyes.)
SOCK MELTON: Can I seeee you tonigggght?
(Sock Cruise jogs across the frame screaming like a banshee. Melton turns, but not in time. Sock Cruise repeatedly stabs Melton in the back.)
SOCK CRUISE: Die Joey die! Die! I’m ungrateful! (stab) I want it all for myself (stab) Fortune and glory, I want it…for me! (Stab) You killed my dog, I know you did! (stab) Gimme my Heathers shirt back, you *****! (stab)
(beat)
(Sock Cruise watches as Sock Melton collapses and CRIES. A part of him dead.)
(END ACT III. END STORY.)
(Sock Cruise comes into frame. A look of disgust, and jealously etched on his face. He stares at Melton with hateful eyes.)
SOCK MELTON: Can I seeee you tonigggght?
(Sock Cruise jogs across the frame screaming like a banshee. Melton turns, but not in time. Sock Cruise repeatedly stabs Melton in the back.)
SOCK CRUISE: Die Joey die! Die! I’m ungrateful! (stab) I want it all for myself (stab) Fortune and glory, I want it…for me! (Stab) You killed my dog, I know you did! (stab) Gimme my Heathers shirt back, you *****! (stab)
(beat)
(Sock Cruise watches as Sock Melton collapses and CRIES. A part of him dead.)
(END ACT III. END STORY.)
Steve
the EX-QUEEN of FW~!
(FADEIN: Joey Melton sitting on the couch. He pulls the socks off his hands, and tosses them aside.)
MELTON: Theatre. I find it all so, dramatic, no?
Cruise sometimes the poor people need visual aid to understand…no, to grasp the sheer scope of your incompetence. And as an entertainer. As a Unifier, a Legend, a King, a God in this business, a master Chef, Vegan, and Green Party Celebrity…it’s my duty to provide the show.
Life’s but a stage, Cameron, made up of funny, bittersweet skits. I’ve only mirrored the reality of our story. Educated the masses in case they needed reminding. That I’m the victim.
Poor Sock Melton. Abused. Stabbed. Accused. Hurt. Molested.
Did he ask too much?
Did he not make Sock Cruise’s life meaningful?
Did he not enable Sock Cruise to bath in riches beyond his wildest dreams?
You see Cruise, there’s no leg for you to stand on. No corner in the world open to your half-baked explanations about why you threw away the only great thing that’s ever happened in your life. Why you shot a hole through, and sank the Cameron Cruise Project.
You say you want independence, you say you wanna run free, but Cameron, I still hold your leash. I gave you everything, and just as easily took it away. If you hadn’t betrayed me, you’d still be IC champion right now. But, just like sock Cruise, it’s my hands over your strings.
I’m the writer, and director of your show.
You don’t break free until I tire of seeing you dance.
At BLACK DAWN, Cameron, I want you to do a little jig for me one more time. And when you’re done, when I’ve degraded you completely, to where there’s nothing left to take, you’ll get on that house mic and say, “Mister Melton I’m sorry. Mister Melton, I respect you.”
There’s a glimmer of Cameron Cruise left to break.
If I’m anything, I’m a closer.
The Cameron Cruise Project’s nearly done. One last revision, and it’ll be mine to forever own.
(FTB)
MELTON: Theatre. I find it all so, dramatic, no?
Cruise sometimes the poor people need visual aid to understand…no, to grasp the sheer scope of your incompetence. And as an entertainer. As a Unifier, a Legend, a King, a God in this business, a master Chef, Vegan, and Green Party Celebrity…it’s my duty to provide the show.
Life’s but a stage, Cameron, made up of funny, bittersweet skits. I’ve only mirrored the reality of our story. Educated the masses in case they needed reminding. That I’m the victim.
Poor Sock Melton. Abused. Stabbed. Accused. Hurt. Molested.
Did he ask too much?
Did he not make Sock Cruise’s life meaningful?
Did he not enable Sock Cruise to bath in riches beyond his wildest dreams?
You see Cruise, there’s no leg for you to stand on. No corner in the world open to your half-baked explanations about why you threw away the only great thing that’s ever happened in your life. Why you shot a hole through, and sank the Cameron Cruise Project.
You say you want independence, you say you wanna run free, but Cameron, I still hold your leash. I gave you everything, and just as easily took it away. If you hadn’t betrayed me, you’d still be IC champion right now. But, just like sock Cruise, it’s my hands over your strings.
I’m the writer, and director of your show.
You don’t break free until I tire of seeing you dance.
At BLACK DAWN, Cameron, I want you to do a little jig for me one more time. And when you’re done, when I’ve degraded you completely, to where there’s nothing left to take, you’ll get on that house mic and say, “Mister Melton I’m sorry. Mister Melton, I respect you.”
There’s a glimmer of Cameron Cruise left to break.
If I’m anything, I’m a closer.
The Cameron Cruise Project’s nearly done. One last revision, and it’ll be mine to forever own.
(FTB)
TSiegel
I spoil things.
(Fadein, Cruise in front of an EPW Black Dawn backdrop.)
CRUISE: Even in the seriousness of what's going on, you can't seem but to poke fun at things.
Sock puppets?? I mean, really....I thought that's what Adrien Evans used to do in the backseat when you insisted he go along with us on roadtrips instead of getting a plane ticket...like Dan Ryan WANTED us to do in the first place.
But you just don't understand it, even now, when I've got you in a cage, where you can't escape.
I can win on my own, or I can win in a tag team match, it doesn't matter.
I don't need you to succeed.
I mean, anyone would see that by the evidence of you tapping out in your own figure-four last week...
But I'm sure your memory was too blindsided by the fact that the media had announced the Olsen Twins naming their....successors.
I'm sure Beau and Em Dubya Gee are too excited for words, as is.
I can take someone on by someone by myself and beat them...
By myself, like you learned last week.
But this isn't about the victory, Joe.
It's about the Respect, something you WILL remember at Black Dawn.
Because that's ONE Reality Check...that you just...won't like.
(Fadeout.)
CRUISE: Even in the seriousness of what's going on, you can't seem but to poke fun at things.
Sock puppets?? I mean, really....I thought that's what Adrien Evans used to do in the backseat when you insisted he go along with us on roadtrips instead of getting a plane ticket...like Dan Ryan WANTED us to do in the first place.
But you just don't understand it, even now, when I've got you in a cage, where you can't escape.
I can win on my own, or I can win in a tag team match, it doesn't matter.
I don't need you to succeed.
I mean, anyone would see that by the evidence of you tapping out in your own figure-four last week...
But I'm sure your memory was too blindsided by the fact that the media had announced the Olsen Twins naming their....successors.
I'm sure Beau and Em Dubya Gee are too excited for words, as is.
I can take someone on by someone by myself and beat them...
By myself, like you learned last week.
But this isn't about the victory, Joe.
It's about the Respect, something you WILL remember at Black Dawn.
Because that's ONE Reality Check...that you just...won't like.
(Fadeout.)
Steve
the EX-QUEEN of FW~!
(FADEIN: Joey Melton in front of an EPW BLACK DAWN backdrop.)
MELTON: Cruise, in a nutshell, you stink.
(Joey coughs, and runs his hands through his hair. A beat passes, before he realizes the red light on the camera is still on.)
Why are we rolling?
CAMERAMAN: (O/S) Sir…Sorry, I thought…
MELTON: I’d say more? Come here, son.
CAMERMAN: Sorry?
MELTON: (sternly) Come….here.
(beat)
(The cameraman tentatively walks into frame.)
MELTON: Closer.
CAMERAMAN: I..
MELTON: Closer, like you’re going to whisper sweet nothings in my ear.
(The cameraman balks then lowers his head. Melton smacks him on top of the head once he’s in range.)
MELTON: Now, get out of frame. I’m not paid to hear what you think. And your not paid TO think. You understand, son?
CAMERAMAN: (O/S) Yes sir.
MELTON: Tell me, since apparently we’re brainstorming here, why should I waste more of my language on Cameron Cruise? He doesn’t understand it. The essence of my greatness, the soul of what’s carried me to the top of the sports entertainment world has only been tainted, dirtied, ass raped by Cameron Cruise. I waived the cover charge into the Church Of Melton. The ushers were instructed to bring him straight to me. I ordered him to have the best food, wine, and women. I gave with that man, until it literally hurt, and was I ever repaid?
CAMERAMAN: (O/S) I…don’t…
MELTON: No. I wasn’t. Okay you want more? You want me to look at that red light next to your head and defile Cruise further? Peaches. (beat) Cameron, let’s be honest here. You’re shopping wood because you were able to execute the Figure Four correctly for the first time in your career, not because it was applied to me. In your moment of glory, I still win. If none of my class, dignity, or social graces seeped in, may I rest peacefully forever knowing, you hooked the leg and added the right measurement of pressure. The longest labor in history is over. Joey Melton, finally, has given birth to Cameron Cruise.
My, what an ugly-ass baby.
And now, Black Dawn…the litmus test. My legacy of being a healer, and maker of men on trial. I just need you to walk on your own two feet, and show the world, your rough edges have been polished off. Ryan gave me a project when I signed the EPW contract. The protect was you Cruise. The project always was you.
Dan, well he made a bad investment Cameron. And rather than cutting ties with a horrible mistake, rather than admitting he’s capable of failing, Ryan threw this waste, this, steaming pile of **** that nobody else would touch, and challenged me. “Make this sell, and I owe you two dollars.”
THAT’s the project, Cruise. That’s what you’ve ever meant to be. Two Dollars.
You’re my bonus. The reason I came to grips with showering twice after events, and mingling with the lesser breeds of professional wrestling. Oh sure, along the way, I fell in love with Lindsay Troy and grew my portfolio, but the scrapbook of my life in EPW will be one page, with…two dollars pasted front and center. That’s what it cost to make you a star.
Truth be told, Dan would’ve settled with just turning Cinderella into a professional, someone he could count on for mid-card bookings and Christmas day gigs. But, if you know me by now Cameron, you know I go the extra mile. I don’t just save the baby from the burning building, I save the new age artwork mounted on the walls, too.
You are what you are because of me, and though it pains you to admit it, you will at Black Dawn. You will, and then I’m kicking your ass down the black hole of professional wrestling, and maybe, if you’re lucky when you wake up, twenty years later, somebody will call you and ask for an interview, and they’ll wanna know what your time was like with Joey Melton.
I’ve transformed many men into stars. The list, it’s as big as my…well, it’s big. Trust me. The ones smart enough to hang on, and show their minister the respect and adulation he deserves, have been the cornerstones of this business for the last fifteen years. The ones who betrayed me, who forgot WHY they were relevant, are sending in their Survivor tapes, or recounting the story of the best days of their lives to their drinking buddies. If nothing else, they left with a story.
What will you be left with Cruise?
A yellow brick road to stardom, or a story, a memory of a time in your life when you ran with Devils and never had to say “sorry.”
I’ve just about tired of you, Cruise. And I have insane tolerance levels. Ask Randalls.
Try as I might to convince myself that I hate you, that you’re just a begger that looked good by mistake…I can’t. As I’ve said before, I sort of like you Cruise. Maybe it’s your boyish charm, or admiration of your soft hands that never have seen lotion.
You can still be let back in the Church Of Melton, but there’s a price.
At Black Dawn, Cruise. Don’t bother wrestling this match. You know, you can’t win. If you want back in my good graces, if you liked smelling like roses, and dining Playboy Bunnies, you’re to climb into the ring, KNEEL before me, and to everyone watching, repent for your transgressions. You’re to tell me how much I’m respected.
Pride doesn’t go down easy, Cameron.
But the first bite is the worst. There’s a light at the end of that tunnel, but I can’t bring it to you. You have to reach up and grab it yourself.
Humble yourself, Cruise, in the sight of your Lord.
There’s no Tomorrow in anyone else.
Come forward and submit, before you wake up next week and realize, “hey, I’m Cameron Cruise.”
(FTB)
MELTON: Cruise, in a nutshell, you stink.
(Joey coughs, and runs his hands through his hair. A beat passes, before he realizes the red light on the camera is still on.)
Why are we rolling?
CAMERAMAN: (O/S) Sir…Sorry, I thought…
MELTON: I’d say more? Come here, son.
CAMERMAN: Sorry?
MELTON: (sternly) Come….here.
(beat)
(The cameraman tentatively walks into frame.)
MELTON: Closer.
CAMERAMAN: I..
MELTON: Closer, like you’re going to whisper sweet nothings in my ear.
(The cameraman balks then lowers his head. Melton smacks him on top of the head once he’s in range.)
MELTON: Now, get out of frame. I’m not paid to hear what you think. And your not paid TO think. You understand, son?
CAMERAMAN: (O/S) Yes sir.
MELTON: Tell me, since apparently we’re brainstorming here, why should I waste more of my language on Cameron Cruise? He doesn’t understand it. The essence of my greatness, the soul of what’s carried me to the top of the sports entertainment world has only been tainted, dirtied, ass raped by Cameron Cruise. I waived the cover charge into the Church Of Melton. The ushers were instructed to bring him straight to me. I ordered him to have the best food, wine, and women. I gave with that man, until it literally hurt, and was I ever repaid?
CAMERAMAN: (O/S) I…don’t…
MELTON: No. I wasn’t. Okay you want more? You want me to look at that red light next to your head and defile Cruise further? Peaches. (beat) Cameron, let’s be honest here. You’re shopping wood because you were able to execute the Figure Four correctly for the first time in your career, not because it was applied to me. In your moment of glory, I still win. If none of my class, dignity, or social graces seeped in, may I rest peacefully forever knowing, you hooked the leg and added the right measurement of pressure. The longest labor in history is over. Joey Melton, finally, has given birth to Cameron Cruise.
My, what an ugly-ass baby.
And now, Black Dawn…the litmus test. My legacy of being a healer, and maker of men on trial. I just need you to walk on your own two feet, and show the world, your rough edges have been polished off. Ryan gave me a project when I signed the EPW contract. The protect was you Cruise. The project always was you.
Dan, well he made a bad investment Cameron. And rather than cutting ties with a horrible mistake, rather than admitting he’s capable of failing, Ryan threw this waste, this, steaming pile of **** that nobody else would touch, and challenged me. “Make this sell, and I owe you two dollars.”
THAT’s the project, Cruise. That’s what you’ve ever meant to be. Two Dollars.
You’re my bonus. The reason I came to grips with showering twice after events, and mingling with the lesser breeds of professional wrestling. Oh sure, along the way, I fell in love with Lindsay Troy and grew my portfolio, but the scrapbook of my life in EPW will be one page, with…two dollars pasted front and center. That’s what it cost to make you a star.
Truth be told, Dan would’ve settled with just turning Cinderella into a professional, someone he could count on for mid-card bookings and Christmas day gigs. But, if you know me by now Cameron, you know I go the extra mile. I don’t just save the baby from the burning building, I save the new age artwork mounted on the walls, too.
You are what you are because of me, and though it pains you to admit it, you will at Black Dawn. You will, and then I’m kicking your ass down the black hole of professional wrestling, and maybe, if you’re lucky when you wake up, twenty years later, somebody will call you and ask for an interview, and they’ll wanna know what your time was like with Joey Melton.
I’ve transformed many men into stars. The list, it’s as big as my…well, it’s big. Trust me. The ones smart enough to hang on, and show their minister the respect and adulation he deserves, have been the cornerstones of this business for the last fifteen years. The ones who betrayed me, who forgot WHY they were relevant, are sending in their Survivor tapes, or recounting the story of the best days of their lives to their drinking buddies. If nothing else, they left with a story.
What will you be left with Cruise?
A yellow brick road to stardom, or a story, a memory of a time in your life when you ran with Devils and never had to say “sorry.”
I’ve just about tired of you, Cruise. And I have insane tolerance levels. Ask Randalls.
Try as I might to convince myself that I hate you, that you’re just a begger that looked good by mistake…I can’t. As I’ve said before, I sort of like you Cruise. Maybe it’s your boyish charm, or admiration of your soft hands that never have seen lotion.
You can still be let back in the Church Of Melton, but there’s a price.
At Black Dawn, Cruise. Don’t bother wrestling this match. You know, you can’t win. If you want back in my good graces, if you liked smelling like roses, and dining Playboy Bunnies, you’re to climb into the ring, KNEEL before me, and to everyone watching, repent for your transgressions. You’re to tell me how much I’m respected.
Pride doesn’t go down easy, Cameron.
But the first bite is the worst. There’s a light at the end of that tunnel, but I can’t bring it to you. You have to reach up and grab it yourself.
Humble yourself, Cruise, in the sight of your Lord.
There’s no Tomorrow in anyone else.
Come forward and submit, before you wake up next week and realize, “hey, I’m Cameron Cruise.”
(FTB)
Steve
the EX-QUEEN of FW~!
(FADEIN: Joey Melton sits on a stool in a small recording studio. Casually dressed, with an acoustic guitar in his hands, legs crossed.)
MELTON: Do you ever get tired of being an opening act, Cruise? Of warming the crowd up for REAL talent? I’ve been a Main Event’er for seventeen years. But, look at us, thrown under the bus. An intermission slot in the middle of Black Dawn. This match should matter! Cruise/Melton should headline this pending disaster, but Ryan knows you can’t stand alone.
And that’s the crux of it Cameron. I can’t protect you anymore. I can’t talk for both of us. I can’t pull both our shares in the ring. It’s up to you to show the world what you’ve learned, what, if any surprises you have left.
This is the turning point in your career, and you’ve managed to turn away from the EPW cameras. You’ve managed to turn off fans high and low.
Here’s the reality for you.
The day after Black Dawn you’ll be Peyton Wright, or Steven Flair. Two men I made rich, and famous, two men I helped get laid more than a small town in Kentucky, and today…nobody knows where the hell they are. That’s your pending legacy Cameron. You’re about to be a man that won me two dollars, and for eighteen months lived like Kings do. I gave you celebrity, for no better reason than I was dared to.
My own reality is, I’m in the twilight of my career. The opportunities to front a company, to cement my own legacy as being the greatest this sport’s ever seen are thinning each year. There’s an urgency to me Cameron, that’s never been there before. I’ve made my share of mistakes, God knows I have. But a money win and I’m reborn again.
Black Dawn, PPV time, it’s where Joey Melton has always done his best work. When the lights are bright, and the air that much sweeter to breath, Joey Melton big-times it first class. At my age Cameron, it’s what I roll out of bed for. It’s why I keep pushing when my body balks, and back account questions the effort. What a wonderful game I’ve played all these years, and if it’s winding down, my moments of glory have to be now.
Fact of the matter is, you’ve done me a great service, Cruise.
If more of my brilliance rests behind than ahead, the weight I carry in-ring needs to just be my own. I want the EPW World title. I want people to say, “Joey Melton is the best in the game, again.” And the simple truth is, I can’t get that wrestling you.
This is where Ryan writes you off. This match is where our transaction pays in full. I’ve made you earn your contract, I’ve given purpose to you in EPW, but when we walk from Black Dawn Ryan and I owe you nothing.
Forcing you to submit and apologize for being a fool, may not bring peace on Earth, but frees me up to take the next step. I’ve wasted my time with you, Cameron. It’s human nature to go through phases, we’ll call this one, “Joey’s weakness for sad sacks who could never do it alone.”
Your whole career, Cruise, you’ve been in search of identity. You found one through me, but that’s hardly fair. After Black Dawn, your search will come to a merciful end. You’ll be known as “Mr. Meats and Cheeses” Cameron Cruise.
That’s your future, six months from now. Out of wrestling, and selling Meats and Cheeses door to door. When a coattail rides like a magic carpet, the fall from grace is sudden and ends with a sickening thud.
Say thud, Cruise, and take your destiny in your own hands.
When you turned your back on me, when you accused Joey Melton of being a petty thief, you committed career suicide. We’ll call it assisted suicide, after my role at Black Dawn.
You’re a pretty boy, and people bought the bull**** that you were on my level for two years. They’ll buy fine grades of American, or Cheddar from you.
It’s not all bad. There’s a place for you in the world, just not on the same plane as me.
I, Cameron, am a man of many talents. And I’m about to lay the track for my debut album. “Joey Melton: Legacy.” Available in stores near you by the end of the year. This first song, well, I wrote it for you Cruise. And if you don’t mind, I’d like to play it for you, if there’s time.
(beat)
(Melton tunes the guitar, clears his throat and nods to the producer. The first chords sound oddly familiar, a direct riff of Lisa Loeb’s “Stay.")
Cruise says, I’m a jealous old fool
Cruise says, I talk so all the time so
And I thought what I felt was love
And I thought that I don’t believe he bit the hand
Bit the hand that fed him, yeah
And now that I am leaving
Now I know that I did something wrong ‘cause I missed you
Yeah, I missed you
But we all make mistakes, and mine was thinking
That I’d live forever, and that I’d found, yeah,
Found man love, but Cruise wanted
To sail the seven seas solo, he wanted to be
Left alone, okay well, today’s not forever but
Today you’re left alone
I don’t pay attention to the distance that you’re running
Or to anyone, anywhere
I don’t understand if you really care
I’m only hearing negative: no, no, no
I’m only hearing: Joey Melton’s a clown
So I turned the radio on, I turned the radio up
And this woman was singing my song:
The partner’s great, and the other’s run away
The partner is crying ‘cause the other won’t stay
Some of us weeped when we first saw Cruise, who was
Dying since the day he was born
Well, well, this is not that:
I think that I’m throwing, but I’m thrown.
And I thought I’d live forever but now I’m not so sure
you try to tell me that i'm clever, that I was like a God to you
but that won't take me anyhow, or anywhere with you.
you said that i was spiteful
and i thought that i was strong.
you thought, "hey, i can leave, i can leave."
but now you know that you were wrong, 'cause no one cares for you.
you said, "I’m gonna be a star that lights the night."
And I laughed real hard, because
Without me you’re gonna be selling
Meats and cheeses door to door
Look out world, here comes Cruise to a city near you
He’s got American, Swiss, cheddar and ground sirloin too
He was once my pawn, but he decided to go, and
Now his future is sure.
Now his future is selling meats and cheeses
Door to door…
And I say, nobody cares for you.
(FADE TO BLACK as off frame CLAPPING brings a thankful nod from Melton, and a small tear in the corner of his left eye.)
MELTON: Do you ever get tired of being an opening act, Cruise? Of warming the crowd up for REAL talent? I’ve been a Main Event’er for seventeen years. But, look at us, thrown under the bus. An intermission slot in the middle of Black Dawn. This match should matter! Cruise/Melton should headline this pending disaster, but Ryan knows you can’t stand alone.
And that’s the crux of it Cameron. I can’t protect you anymore. I can’t talk for both of us. I can’t pull both our shares in the ring. It’s up to you to show the world what you’ve learned, what, if any surprises you have left.
This is the turning point in your career, and you’ve managed to turn away from the EPW cameras. You’ve managed to turn off fans high and low.
Here’s the reality for you.
The day after Black Dawn you’ll be Peyton Wright, or Steven Flair. Two men I made rich, and famous, two men I helped get laid more than a small town in Kentucky, and today…nobody knows where the hell they are. That’s your pending legacy Cameron. You’re about to be a man that won me two dollars, and for eighteen months lived like Kings do. I gave you celebrity, for no better reason than I was dared to.
My own reality is, I’m in the twilight of my career. The opportunities to front a company, to cement my own legacy as being the greatest this sport’s ever seen are thinning each year. There’s an urgency to me Cameron, that’s never been there before. I’ve made my share of mistakes, God knows I have. But a money win and I’m reborn again.
Black Dawn, PPV time, it’s where Joey Melton has always done his best work. When the lights are bright, and the air that much sweeter to breath, Joey Melton big-times it first class. At my age Cameron, it’s what I roll out of bed for. It’s why I keep pushing when my body balks, and back account questions the effort. What a wonderful game I’ve played all these years, and if it’s winding down, my moments of glory have to be now.
Fact of the matter is, you’ve done me a great service, Cruise.
If more of my brilliance rests behind than ahead, the weight I carry in-ring needs to just be my own. I want the EPW World title. I want people to say, “Joey Melton is the best in the game, again.” And the simple truth is, I can’t get that wrestling you.
This is where Ryan writes you off. This match is where our transaction pays in full. I’ve made you earn your contract, I’ve given purpose to you in EPW, but when we walk from Black Dawn Ryan and I owe you nothing.
Forcing you to submit and apologize for being a fool, may not bring peace on Earth, but frees me up to take the next step. I’ve wasted my time with you, Cameron. It’s human nature to go through phases, we’ll call this one, “Joey’s weakness for sad sacks who could never do it alone.”
Your whole career, Cruise, you’ve been in search of identity. You found one through me, but that’s hardly fair. After Black Dawn, your search will come to a merciful end. You’ll be known as “Mr. Meats and Cheeses” Cameron Cruise.
That’s your future, six months from now. Out of wrestling, and selling Meats and Cheeses door to door. When a coattail rides like a magic carpet, the fall from grace is sudden and ends with a sickening thud.
Say thud, Cruise, and take your destiny in your own hands.
When you turned your back on me, when you accused Joey Melton of being a petty thief, you committed career suicide. We’ll call it assisted suicide, after my role at Black Dawn.
You’re a pretty boy, and people bought the bull**** that you were on my level for two years. They’ll buy fine grades of American, or Cheddar from you.
It’s not all bad. There’s a place for you in the world, just not on the same plane as me.
I, Cameron, am a man of many talents. And I’m about to lay the track for my debut album. “Joey Melton: Legacy.” Available in stores near you by the end of the year. This first song, well, I wrote it for you Cruise. And if you don’t mind, I’d like to play it for you, if there’s time.
(beat)
(Melton tunes the guitar, clears his throat and nods to the producer. The first chords sound oddly familiar, a direct riff of Lisa Loeb’s “Stay.")
Cruise says, I’m a jealous old fool
Cruise says, I talk so all the time so
And I thought what I felt was love
And I thought that I don’t believe he bit the hand
Bit the hand that fed him, yeah
And now that I am leaving
Now I know that I did something wrong ‘cause I missed you
Yeah, I missed you
But we all make mistakes, and mine was thinking
That I’d live forever, and that I’d found, yeah,
Found man love, but Cruise wanted
To sail the seven seas solo, he wanted to be
Left alone, okay well, today’s not forever but
Today you’re left alone
I don’t pay attention to the distance that you’re running
Or to anyone, anywhere
I don’t understand if you really care
I’m only hearing negative: no, no, no
I’m only hearing: Joey Melton’s a clown
So I turned the radio on, I turned the radio up
And this woman was singing my song:
The partner’s great, and the other’s run away
The partner is crying ‘cause the other won’t stay
Some of us weeped when we first saw Cruise, who was
Dying since the day he was born
Well, well, this is not that:
I think that I’m throwing, but I’m thrown.
And I thought I’d live forever but now I’m not so sure
you try to tell me that i'm clever, that I was like a God to you
but that won't take me anyhow, or anywhere with you.
you said that i was spiteful
and i thought that i was strong.
you thought, "hey, i can leave, i can leave."
but now you know that you were wrong, 'cause no one cares for you.
you said, "I’m gonna be a star that lights the night."
And I laughed real hard, because
Without me you’re gonna be selling
Meats and cheeses door to door
Look out world, here comes Cruise to a city near you
He’s got American, Swiss, cheddar and ground sirloin too
He was once my pawn, but he decided to go, and
Now his future is sure.
Now his future is selling meats and cheeses
Door to door…
And I say, nobody cares for you.
(FADE TO BLACK as off frame CLAPPING brings a thankful nod from Melton, and a small tear in the corner of his left eye.)
Last edited:
TSiegel
I spoil things.
"Do you ever get tired of being an opening act, Cruise?"
(Fadein, Cruise in front of an EPW BLACK DAWN, backdrop, his "Anarchy" Shades covering his eyes.)
CRUISE: Don't you ever SHUT UP??
Geez Melton, I suppose that phrase "Some things change, and some things stay the same" does apply here doesn't it?? Whereever it is I show up...YOU show up moments later, like a retriever coming to his master at his leisure.
Only thing is Joe....is that I never wanted you here in the FIRST PLACE!!
But here I am, and just like I left you, you were mouthing off about things that I either can't comprehend...or perhaps I just don't give a (BLEEP!!) about, and you're STILL talking.
See Joe...you actually think that it was RYAN that got me here, when it really was only Freeman.
Just Freeman.
The same man that had the genius idea to let you in the door of this place.
Ryan's the owner and believe me, financially, I couldn't be happier, but after sticking his boot straight down your throat and putting you in the hospital....
Do you REALLY think he gives a (BLEEP!!) about you either??
"This is where Ryan writes you off"...
Hasn't he been doing that to you for what....the last YEAR??
NFW....CSWA...here, he's always a leg up on you Melton, and you've NEVER been able to do anything about it.
Not without me.
So with the match that I asked for, you want me to show you what I've learned....what I've BEEN doing for the past two years, so that you can push it aside for the WORLD TITLE??
I mean, come on Joe...haven't I been showing you enough in the past few weeks alone?? Winning the Intercontinental title....competing in a tag match without you AND winning....making you tap out to your own Figure Four...all of this, in the past month and you still want more proof that I don't need you for the burden that you are??
Now how will you get the World Title when you can't even beat me, "Mr. Meats and Cheeses" as you so call me??
What happen's when I beat you again, Melton? What happens when you can't even beat "Mr. Meat's and Cheese's"?? What does that do for you??
Moreso than even getting caught in the most WORLD CLASS REALITY CHECK coming to you Joey, can provide.
Because when it's over...I PROMISE...
It'll be the only apologizing I hear, other than my own to the entire WORLD WHO'S WATCHING, that will sputter out of your mouth, much less a song and dance.
(Cruise thrusts his arms out to the sides.)
And THAT'S ALL FOLKS!!
(Fadeout.)
(Fadein, Cruise in front of an EPW BLACK DAWN, backdrop, his "Anarchy" Shades covering his eyes.)
CRUISE: Don't you ever SHUT UP??
Geez Melton, I suppose that phrase "Some things change, and some things stay the same" does apply here doesn't it?? Whereever it is I show up...YOU show up moments later, like a retriever coming to his master at his leisure.
Only thing is Joe....is that I never wanted you here in the FIRST PLACE!!
But here I am, and just like I left you, you were mouthing off about things that I either can't comprehend...or perhaps I just don't give a (BLEEP!!) about, and you're STILL talking.
See Joe...you actually think that it was RYAN that got me here, when it really was only Freeman.
Just Freeman.
The same man that had the genius idea to let you in the door of this place.
Ryan's the owner and believe me, financially, I couldn't be happier, but after sticking his boot straight down your throat and putting you in the hospital....
Do you REALLY think he gives a (BLEEP!!) about you either??
"This is where Ryan writes you off"...
Hasn't he been doing that to you for what....the last YEAR??
NFW....CSWA...here, he's always a leg up on you Melton, and you've NEVER been able to do anything about it.
Not without me.
So with the match that I asked for, you want me to show you what I've learned....what I've BEEN doing for the past two years, so that you can push it aside for the WORLD TITLE??
I mean, come on Joe...haven't I been showing you enough in the past few weeks alone?? Winning the Intercontinental title....competing in a tag match without you AND winning....making you tap out to your own Figure Four...all of this, in the past month and you still want more proof that I don't need you for the burden that you are??
Now how will you get the World Title when you can't even beat me, "Mr. Meats and Cheeses" as you so call me??
What happen's when I beat you again, Melton? What happens when you can't even beat "Mr. Meat's and Cheese's"?? What does that do for you??
Moreso than even getting caught in the most WORLD CLASS REALITY CHECK coming to you Joey, can provide.
Because when it's over...I PROMISE...
It'll be the only apologizing I hear, other than my own to the entire WORLD WHO'S WATCHING, that will sputter out of your mouth, much less a song and dance.
(Cruise thrusts his arms out to the sides.)
And THAT'S ALL FOLKS!!
(Fadeout.)