We're going to War

[SouthernBoy]

{{...FADE-IN: Shane Southern is sitting on his Bourbon Street apartment balcony...It's early morning as the only people on the street are bums and cleaning crews. Southern's dressed in plain gray warmups, his hair pulled into a pony tail behind his head...}}

SHANE SOUTHERN: " Ya' know Guns, I've never heard one man talk SO much, yet say so little. I'm not gonna' come out here on CSWA TV and talk 'bout anuther wrestlin' organization. I'm not gonna' talk 'bout what I've done in tha' past n ' what it took ta' get here. I'm not gonna' talk 'bout what other belts I've held, or currently hold OR PLAN ta' hold anywhere else BUT tha' CSWA. I'm not forty years old...hell, I'm not quite even thirty yet. I've gotta' lotta' get up n' go left in me Guns, and if I CHOOSE ta' participate in other organizations, it's mah' choice. If I begin ta' tire out...if I begin ta' slow down, then maybe it'll be time fora' change. But, RIGHT NOW, right HERE, mah' focus is YOU Guns. And as far as YOU should be concerned, as far as tha' CSWA should be concerned, that's tha' ONLY focus I have. "

" See Guns, NOW ya've got ta' step inta' tha' ring at ON TIME with one PEE-OH'd southern boy. I'm not pissed that Merritt stripped me of tha' Greensboro title. If I want that back, I'll get it back. JJ Deville is a piss-ant of an after-thought right now. What ya' did ta' him is nuthin' compared ta' tha' EXAMPLE I'm gonna' make outta' him at Primetime. In fact, why don't ya' come on down...take a GOOD, LONG, HARD look at it. And when I'm done...if ya' still wanna' tell me ta' go back ta' Boston...then ya' can tell me ta' mah' FACE. I'll be happy ta' listen REAL HARD. "

" Ya' see Guns, until Chad Merritt post tha' "CLOSED" sign on tha' arena door, until Hornet packs his bags and moves ta' Florida in a condo on tha' beach, until Mike Randalls finally goes COMPLETLEY crazy and kills himself, until Troy Windam and Eli Flair kill EACH OTHER, until tha' STRONGEST ARMS IN THE WORLD are no longer that...this place can be changed, it WILL be changed...brick by brick if need be. Ya' see, in reality Guns, we're almost workin' ta'gether! Unwillingly, yer helpin' me in mah' goal. "

" 'Cause ya' see Guns, YER gonna' be tha' FIRST. Yer gonna' be tha' first "legend" ta' give up his SPOT...and Shane Southern's gonna' be tha' one ta' TAKE it from ya'. Maybe not at ON TIME, 'cause Lord in Heaven above knows that's not that' place things are settled. This'll be long...it'll be drawn out...it'll be bloody, and it can only end ONE way.... ONE of us is gonna' loose. We can't both have our goals...we can't BOTH get what we want. So ya' ask yerself Guns...do you have tha' 'want to' ta' bring not only tha' CSWA down, but Shane Southern as well? Do ya' have ENOUGH? "

" This is only tha' FIRST shot fired in tha' war Guns...but what YOU DO in this match determines who gets tha' upper hand FIRST. That's important in this war...'cause one ya' loose it, ya' may NEVER get it back. I look forward to tha' battle Guns, DO YOU?

" PARTY'S OVER. "

{{..FADE OUT...}}

 

[Packschmid]

Party's Only Just Begun

(FADEIN: GUNS sitting poolside in his San Diego hotel, laying on a chez lounge in sunglasses and swimming trunks.)

GUNS: So, Shane, you want a war, is that it? You snot-nosed little PUNK...you and Wicked Sight, you both live in the same dream world where the CSWA is the Land of Opportunity...where the CSWA is a place for the bright young wrestlers of tomorrow to take their rightful spot at the top of the mountain. (Pauses.) I hate to break it to you boys, but it's awfully crowded when you start climbing up the mountain...you've got all the big names...your Tom Adlers, your Mark Windhams, your Mike Randalls', your Eli Flairs...and that's before you even reach the PEAK. (Smiles.) Because Shane, at that peak...no, you're not going to find the Strongest Arms in the World...not by a long shot...you're going to find the very ESSENCE of the CSWA...a two man EGO TRIP. That's right. Chad Merritt and Hornet...that's who stands at the TOP of the mountain, Shane, and no amount of superkicks or Southern fire in your belly is going to change that.

Shane, you can't change the Devil...the Devil changes you. The only recourse is to DESTROY the Devil. Shane, you've got it all wrong when you lump me in with the Hornets, the Randalls, the Adlers...the guys desperately clinging to their SPOT. I just walked through the door, Shane...I toss my paychecks into the fireplace...I don't give a DAMN about a SPOT. You want to know what my SPOT here in the CSWA has been historically? (GUNS gets out of his lounge chair and then turns around and places his hands on it, bent over in front of the camera.) TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT WHAT MY *SPOT* HERE IS, SHANE. If you want to take it over, you're more than welcome to it. (GUNS sits back in his chair and takes a sip of his umbrella drink.) Make no mistake, I'm not here to PRESERVE the hierarchy, Shane...I'm here to DESTROY it. Young. Old. Rich. Poor. Talented. Worthless. These terms don't apply, because there's only ONE criteria to get on my hit list. You have to work here.

Some of these other guys, Shane...they NEED this place. You and me... we're different. We're both here by CHOICE. You're here to fight the good fight...to be the best little eager beaver you can be...and that's all well and good, but you don't need to die for this cause, Shane. This is a war that you don't HAVE to fight...and to make matters worse, Shane, you're jumping in on the wrong side.

You say you want a war? Shane, I tell you that war has already been declared...war was declared the second that Merritt took the chains off the doors and let me back in here because he was so BLINDED by rage at the Claimstakers that he was willing to cut off his FACE to spite his NOSE. Remember what happened after Anniversary, Shane? (Grins.) You were ready to take on the WORLD in the name of defending your piddly little Greensboro Heavyweight title...you were so PROUD of that belt, but I told you, Shane...I told you that belt and all the other ones here like it aren't worth SPIT. (Grins.) But you had to find it out for yourself, didn't you, Shane? You had some walking sperm bank with world record implants TAKE YOUR PRECIOUS TITLE and HAND IT over to a glorified POOL BOY.

And this is what you want to go to war to SAVE? (Chuckles.) Shane, you're a good kid and you've got a great future in this sport, so do yourself a favor and GET OUT OF THE WAY. You think you're going to impress me by beating up JJ Deville? Been there, done that, printed the T-shirt. Because if you get in my way, Shane, I'm going to take away that Southern INNOCENCE...I'm going to crush your SPIRIT...I'm going to take your SMILE...and I'm going to CHANGE you, Shane, before the CSWA ever gets a chance to. You see, Shane, you're not going to CHANGE me...you can hit me with your superkick TOMORROW and I'll wake up the next day the same arrogant, bitter, sarcastic son of a gun that I am today. You won't change me...and you can't change the CSWA. You could win the World Heavyweight title TOMORROW and you'd still be nothing more than a pawn in a TWO MAN GAME OF EGO CHESS. Don't believe me? Ask Evan Aho just whose theme music played over the PA after he beat Hornet at Anniversary.

No, Shane, you can't change me. You can't change this place. But this place can change you, so if you're insistent on getting in my way, then I'll just speed up the process. I'll CHANGE you, and then I'll DESTROY you, and the machinery of this sport will chew you up and spit you out before you even REALIZE you've gone from the world's last remaining lily pure babyface to just another heel. The CSWA is coming down, Shane, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. The only power you have, Shane, is to decide whether I bring the walls down AROUND you...

OR ON TOP OF YOU.

(FADEOUT)

 

[SouthernBoy]

Not for you

{{...FADE-IN: Shane Southern sitting in the bar of the same San Diego hotel...}}

SHANE SOUTHERN: " Nuthin' worth havin' comes cheap Guns. No accomplishment is worth SPIT unless ya' got it by workin' yer ass off. In this bizness, most of tha' time, ya' reap what ya' sow...but here, it's a little bit different. Here, there's not a glass ceiling, oh no, it's <BLEEP>ing STEEL. But that don't mean I wanna' take a wreckin' ball n' tear tha' whole buildin' down. Nah, I just wanna' poke a hole through tha' steel n' toss tha' "legends", one by one, down into tha' basement below. Ya' know Guns, we see eye ta' eye on probably ninety percent of things around here. Yer opinion of people n' mine are pretty much right on. It's that final tenth that's tha' problem here. YOU don't consider it worth yer time ta' make this a better place, n' I do..... "

" I don't claim ta' know tha' whole history behind you, Merritt, Hornet n' whoever else yer pissed at....but Chad Merritt's not tha' devil Guns. Sure, he's drunk with power and hypnotized by tha' Voodoo poonany, but he certainly ain't tha' devil. But for tha' sake of argument, let's say he is. In tha' Good Book, James wrote, "resist the devil and he will flee from you." Ya' see Guns, that's why Shane Southern and you are on opposite sides of tha' fence here. I don't let Merritt get ta' me. I coulda' whined and moaned about bein' stripped of tha' Greensboro title...I coulda told Melton where ta' shove it...but that would just add more fuel to tha' fire. Insteada' that...I'm simply gonna' win a higher title, beat a bigger name, climb HIGHER on that ladder until finally Merritt realizes that <bleep>in' with Shane Southern will get him NOWHERE. "

" As far as yer SPOT goes...like it or not Guns, yer lumped in with tha' very names ya' mentioned. Adler, Hornet, Randalls, GUNS. Ya' may not WANT tha' spot...n' that's fine, but in order for me ta' take THOSE guys "spots", I gotta' take YERS first. That means beatin' you. You may have tha' luxury of not carrin' if ya' win or loose....I don't have that. 'Cause WINNIN' is tha' only way I'm gonna' change this place. Ya' don't get on tha' MAP by losin' ta' Guns, but if ya' PIN tha' STRONGEST ARMS IN THA' WORLD, if ya' beat tha' LEGENDARY performer that got a stake drove through his knee, people stand up n' take NOTICE. They say..."Hmmm...Can he do it again? Can he beat Mike Randalls? Hornet? Flair? Love? Windam? And as I take out name after name...suddenly tha' place HAS changed without Merritt even realizin' it. "

" I know it's a very HIGH goal...I know alotta' people don't think I can do it...and that's EXACTLY why I AM gonna' do it. And ya' know Guns...even IF ya' beat me in Anaheim, even IF you totally DESTROY Shane Southern....I'm STILL not gonna' quit. I do what I wanna' do...not what other people THINK I should do. But it's quite clear that no amount of talkin' in tha' WORLD is gonna' bring us over ta' each other's side. So I suppose we'll haveta' agree ta' disagree n' just see who's gonna come out on top. "

" But rest assured Guns that this place won't go down as long as Shane Souther is here ta' hold it up. N' trust me, I don't do this so Chad Merritt can make a profit. I don't even do it so tha' fans will have a CSWA to cheer for. I do this, I take on THIS challenge, to PROVE to myself that I am tha' best. Ta' quote a famous resident of North Carolina, To be tha' Man, you gotta' beat tha' man. It begins with beatin' tha' man called GUNS. "

" Party's Over. "

{{...FADE OUT...}}

 

[Packschmid]

Beat me if you can

(FADEIN: GUNS sprawled out on his hotel bed, looking out at a gorgeous view.)

GUNS: Shane, I admire you. I almost ENVY you. You've still got the fire, Shane...you've still got the look in your eye and the spring in your step that makes you think you can CHANGE the world. (Chuckles.) You want to make a name for yourself, Shane? You want to prove that you're the BEST? You just don't get it, do you? You're not going to have the CHANCE, Shane, because as long as you play their game, you're nothing more than a PAWN.

But now, Shane, we're playing on a whole new level. I once thought I could shame this place into changing for the better, Shane...I thought that I could make the CSWA a better place to wrestle by airing its dirty laundry for the fans to see...and then they would DEMAND change...but it didn't happen, Shane. The CSWA hype machine branded me a WHINER...they told the fans not to listen...and when the fans began to listen ANYWAY...(chuckles)...I got shown the door...LIFETIME BAN...and to be perfectly honest, Shane, by the time it happened I was just glad to be free. I had to take a day-long shower to get the stench of this place off of me.

So why am I back, Shane? Why have I come back into the belly of the beast? Because when that phone rang and some turd named Eddy Love was on the other end offering me a chance to climb back into a CSWA ring, my first notion was to hang up the phone...but then I had a liberating thought. I failed in CHANGING the beast, Shane, but I failed to realize that it is far easier to DESTROY than it is to BUILD. It takes YEARS to build a football stadium and one press of a button to implode it and send it tumbling to the ground...and that's what I'm here to do, Shane...to IMPLODE the CSWA and to bring it tumbling down upon itself.

I'm not here for money...I'm not here to reclaim past glory...I'm not here to protect my SPOT. I'm here to DESTROY, Shane. You say you won't let Merritt get to you...he takes the Greensboro title, you'll just go get a bigger belt. (Chuckles.) And what happens when he takes that away, Shane? He took the Greensboro belt away from you and put it on a certified moron just to show he COULD. What do you think's gonna happen when he's actually COMMITTED to SCREWING you? (Laughs.)

But that's okay, Shane...because it's not going to come to that. I'm not going to let Chad Merritt and Hornet's two-man ego trip slowly grind your career to a stand-still...to slowly drain the joy for this sport out of your veins. (Shakes head.) I'm going to make it QUICK, Shane. You're coming to Prime Time with visions of sugar plums and dreams of making a name for yourself by beating a so-called LEGEND. I'm not a legend, Shane...I'm the REAL THING. Standing right in front of you. The Strongest Arms in the World with the attitude to match, and I'm not here to see if I can hold some uppity young punk's shoulders to the mat for three measly seconds...I'm here to destroy the very ground he WALKS ON.

You want to be famous, Shane? Don't worry, I'll make you famous. On national television, Shane Southern, you're going to make a name for yourself, alright...as JUST ANOTHER SOUVENIR delivered to a lucky fan, COURTESY of Third Row, Inc.