Troy Douglas vs. Cross

[JABolich]

Troy Douglas vs. Cross

Thanks to a snap decision by Dan Ryan, Troy Douglas was deprived of his title shot and set to battle the debuting Cross. Will Douglas prove his reliability by defeating Cross, or will the former A1E World Champion start things off on the right foot with a big win?

 

[Cross]

The Dawn of Committment

FADE IN…

The wind howls through the sanctuary of an old Jesuit monastery in south central Mexico. The aftereffects of Hurricane Ivan are bombarding the old site of Christian worship. It is hard to see in the darkness that envelops the sanctuary, but with each flash of lightning more and more is visible.

Flash!

Crash!

The altar.

Flash!

Crash!

The pews.

Flash!

Crash!

A dark figure kneeling before a 16-foot wooden cross.

With every flash of lightning, the dark figure in a black sleeveless trench coat rises and walks toward some torch lights. He ignites the torches little by little revealing the antique church. Finally he finishes lighting the torches and an ominous glow fills the sanctuary. The tall figure stands before the cross once more with his head down. From behind the wet strings of his long black hair, a deep voice breaks the silence.

Dark Figure: Behold the hour has come. I have journeyed across the world from parts unknown to finally arrive at this particular time for a particular purpose.

For 10 years, I have dedicated my life to waging war against the evil that threatens our great sport of professional wrestling. Many men have bled and others have died making a living in a brutal, yet honorable sport.

Now a new generation of wrestlers has come into the sport with dreams of making it big, having their names in lights, making lots of money, and screwing the groupies that come with the territory.

This is why our sport has begun to die. This is why the general public scoffs at the mere mention of professional wrestling. It’s become all about the glitz and glamour and less about the painstaking work that gets the fans to pay top dollar to see us perform.

This is why I have come to Empire Pro.

The dark figure slowly turns around; his head still lowered and shielded by his long hair.

The name is Cross. I am the curse and blessing of EPW.

Cross slowly lifts his head and stares a hole into the camera.

Behold the eyes of the one who will bring terror, scourge, and wrath upon those in Empire Pro who live for the fame and all its commodities.

At WRESTLEVERSE I, I will walk down the aisle to face a man I know nothing about except that he takes his profession lightly. What kind of a man would work himself to the point of facing the World Heavyweight Champion, and then disappear?

I am not one to judge for I understand extraordinary circumstances, but from what I observe it’s not the first time it’s happened.

Troy Douglas…

I know what I am getting myself into when I step into the ring with you. I know that you will have something to prove to Dan Ryan for being MIA. I know you will try to make an example of me to the fans and Beast that you are back for good.

That’s all wonderful and nice, but I am not your ordinary opponent.

You are going to have to commit yourself to something greater than just wrestling. You are going to have to commit yourself to a sacrifice not many people are willing to make.

This is why I am different, Douglas.

I am not committed to wrestling alone. I am committed to something greater. I am committed to the journey I chose to walk many years ago and wrestling is just a small part of it. I am committed to the Way of the Cross. I live to scourge and crucify in the pursuit of being a light to the wrestling world. This is my journey. This is my life.

If you have any chance of beating me in the ring, Douglas, you will have to be willing to die for a cause that you know is true.

Are you ready to make such a sacrifice?

I am.

When I eventually win the EPW World Heavyweight Championship, I will not rest until my purpose is complete. My journey doesn’t end with the EPW World Title. It will only be a beginning.

So my two questions to you are these, Troy Douglas.

When you come to the ring at WRESTLEVERSE I, will the uncommitted Troy Douglas show up to be beaten, scourged, and crucified?

Or will a newly committed Troy Douglas enter to not only fight for his life, but for something more than righting his wrongs?

The answers are found within you.

Either way, I savor the opportunity to show EPW a light it’s never seen before.

So let it be written…

So let it be done…

Cross walks forward and past the camera into the darkness.

FADE OUT…

 

[CuseTroy]

One More For the Road

FADE IN...

Open on the interior of Troy Douglas' home in Greensboro, North Carolina. For the first time in months, the place looks lived in, and rightly it should. The rigors of the road had gotten to Troy, not quite to the level of his 2003 burnout, by the stress was getting to him nonetheless. But, as the sages say, there's no place like home. No place like the place you grew up in to get one's batteries recharged. On this day, Troy sits in his office adjacent to the living room, wearing a black t-shirt, athletic shorts, and socks. He has a sheaf of papers in his right hands that he stuffs into a manila envelope on the desk. He smiles at the camera in his laid-back Carolina manner, seemingly unthinkable for a man who recently had his World Title shot yanked from his grasp. No matter, that'll change soon.

DOUGLAS:

Y'know, folks, I'm in a bit of a lose-lose situation right now. Few days ago, I was getting ready to take those twenty pounds of gold off of Beast's waist and finally, after four years of blood, sweat and tears, stand atop the wrestling world.

What happens? Well, my friend and yours Dan Ryan, the self-styled "owner" of this promotion, decides its high time to pull the old switcheroo.

Biggest mistake you ever made, Mister Ryan.

Used to be I was proud to work for you Dan, one of the top men in this business for the past few years. When I found out it was you who'd be signing my checks, it was an honor. I've known you long enough to know the kind of company you'd run.

So, I worked my ass off for you, Ryan. I cut promos at ungodly hours, made promotional appearances across this country, and travelled a breakneck schedule across this country right after my comeback from injury. I did that for you Daniel, and at Unleashed I earned the number one contendership to the World Heavyweight Title. I earned a match with Marcus Wescott at Wrestleverse I.

Then you royally f*cked me over. You decided that the man who had given so much to your company wasn't reliable enough to be in your Pay-Per-View's main event. So here I am, not facing Beast, but rather Cross, yet another threateningly large individual who wishes to cause me immense pain.

Big frigging surprise. Stack Douglas up against the impossible odds one more time. It's been done before, Danny. I've taken down everyone you've asked me to, Dan. Karl Brown, beat him twice. Stephen Waltz, ran him out of the company. Adam Benjamin, threw him around the ring before I got screwed out of two victories. Beast? Yeah, I'm only one of two guys to hold a victory over him in this company.

So Cross, while your large and menacing and everything, I've done it before. You may fancy yourself a harbinger of pain, terror, and suffering. You may say you are nothing like any opponent I have ever faced before. You may very well think you know the exact situation you're walking into in Denver.

Whatever you may be thinking, think again.

Sure, I have something to prove at Wrestleverse. But not to Dan Ryan, and especially not to Beast. They know what I can do, and that I can turn on a gear that a scant few in this industry possess. They've just chosen to forget that little nugget right now. I don't have to prove anything to you either, Cross, because for all you make yourself up to be, and for all the talent and maliciousness you certainly possess, you are not my problem.

I, as I always have, need to prove myself to myself. Can I come back from yet another downturn? Is that fire still there? Is my chance for glory meant to be?

I have searched inside myself, and I can say that the answer to all three is a doubtless and resounding yes.

Cross, you say you are committed to the "Way of the Cross". You're here not only to win the World Title, but to be the scourge that will wipe out the impurities of this company. Well, pal, you've got your first objection to that right here.

I know what's coming at Wrestleverse, Cross. I've seen you in action, I know what extents you're willing to go to. But, you have obviously not been watching me closely enough, my friend. The quest for the World Title is my life, it is all I have left in this world. I was robbed of my family and my love, that squared circle is my final sanctuary, the last sacred space I have been able to keep. I have and will go to any lengths for that honor, even if it means issuing my dying breath.

But, that's not going to happen, Cross. Because at Wrestleverse I, the scourge will end before it has even had a chance to make a fleeting impact. You and the rest of the world will no that I am not so easily cast aside.

And Danny, I've got somethin' special planned for you. Check your mail...boss.

That's my part for now.

See ya at the end of the road.

...FADE OUT

 

[Cross]

Not My Sanctuary...

FADE IN...

Cross is sitting in the front pew of Trinity Lutheran Church. It's evening now and the office staff has gone home, but the former A1E Champion meditates during these rare moments on the road.

Cross: It's a rare occasion to be able to meditate on thoughts, experiences, and spiritual tidbits when you are on the road. It is hard to find a sanctuary to hide from all the press and media.

So I understand your plight, Douglas.

I can only sympathize about your losses in life for I, too, have lost those dear to me in the span of the last couple years. You can even say that you and I have something in common.

But it is there where our similarities end, Douglas.

Unfortunately, your sanctuary is my abode of scourging and crucifying. It is there where I make things new by taking my opponent through a journey back in time where crucifixion was the norm.

I hate to spoil your sanctuary, for I cherish the moments in them.

But being in the wrestling business, it's not about finding solace in the ring. It's about giving everything you got to get to the next level. I am glad you are willing to face anything, including death, because we will visit that frontier.

I applaud your desire to right your wrongs, but unfortunately you will not right them against me. I didn't come to have things righted on me, but to right the wrongs on others.

Douglas, whether by fate or by trickery, we have been destined to meet in the center of that ring.

One of us has to lose and fall before the other.

I WILL NOT BE THAT ONE!

You will be the first to know in EPW who I am and what I can do.

You will understand that I don't make threats.

I also don't make promises.

I make truths.

The truth is, Troy Douglas, my truth always hurts!

Thus saith the Cross...

FADE OUT...

 

[CuseTroy]

Running Back to Glory

FADE IN...

Open on a nondescript bar, dowtown Denver, Colorado. Sitting at a round table in the back of the room is Troy Douglas, his famed tan leather jacket hanging nonchalantly over the chair opposite him. In his right hand, he cradles a half-empty bottle of Coors. He sets the beer on the table, and smiles his engaging Southern grin.

DOUGLAS:

So, Cross, it seems after listening to you that you are the one person left who doesn't yet know just who I am and where I'm coming from.

You speak of truth, my friend, of scourging this business of all those unworthy people until your truth is all that remains. Yet, Cross, you know nothing of my history, nothing that would lead you to question, even for a second, that you can be defeated at Wrestleverse.

When I say that the ring is my sanctuary, I mean that I thrive for the fight. I thirst, every moment I'm outside of the ring, to be back in that squared circle making a move for a World Title.

Hell, that's probably one of the reason's I burnt out the first time. I over-extended myself, and I couldn't take the pressure anymore, neither mentally nor physically.

But, anyway, I continue to have an unwavering, unflinching desire to reach the peak of success in this industry. I owe that to myself, for being dropped down so many times before and still, time after time after time, getting back up and becoming even better.

It is not, however, to myself alone to whom I am dedicated, my friend. You say you have a higher calling, I tell you that I too am driven by something from beyond this Earth. I thrive on the memory of my mother, my father, and my fiancee, all of whom were taken before their times had truly expired. For them, to honor their memories, to work beyond my grief, I will do anything to exceed inside that ring.

Even if that means means taking down a false prophet of a worn out, tired doctrine that has no more basis in reality than a universe governed by a talking toaster. I'm sorry, Cross, that's just the way it is.

At Wrestleverse, one man will prove that he is worthy of the gold that, for now, sits around Marcus Wescott's waist.

In the end, we will know if your truth, or mine, will triumph. I know more of what you can do than you can imagine, Cross. I've seen you crucify a man while I waited to go through hell with two others. You will have no such sadistic pleasure with me, pal.

You, however, none of you, have yet to see my full capability inside that ring. There is NO DEPTH to where I am willing go in order to strap that gold around my waist. You saw where each of us went at Battleground Britain, the last great GXW event. That was my second match back from my recovery. Now, I'm eight months stronger, faster, better.

My quest will not have been in vain. Measures have been taken to ensure that I will, one day soon, take on the EPW World Champion. At that point, and now, I will leave no room for error. I will prove, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that I am as good as any man, woman, or otherwordly being in this business today.

That's that, boys. See ya at the end of the road.

Coming up sooner than y'all think.

...FADE OUT