Post by Admin on Jan 23, 2023 23:57:44 GMT -5
LIVE from THE UNITED CENTER in CHICAGO, IL JANUARY 23, 2023 |
INT. THE UNITED CENTER — BACKSTAGE
The view comes in live, showing fan-favorite and former UPRISING World Champion GRIFFIN HAWKINS is standing in the hallway, thinking. He's dressed in black leather pants and a Hellfire Club long-sleeved shirt. He sits on a backstage cart, clearly lost in thought. After a few moments, he speaks.
GRIFFIN HAWKINS
2022.....was a good one for me. Had some good matches, I captured the UPRISING World Heavyweight Title twice to add to my resume, got inducted into the Hall Of Fame for the second time in my career. I accomplished quite a lot. Even made a few people miserable by beating them in the center of the ring and foiling their plans. Course...Chris Mosh is walking around with the UPRISING Title...
The crowd boos loudly at the mention. He gets off the cart, obviously frustrated and angry with recent events.
GRIFFIN HAWKINS
If the One Percent think that they'll get away with what they've done, then they are dumber than they look. I'm not the only one who's had my fill of being pushed around by Chris Mosh and Marisol Vilaro. So here's my promise to you, the UPRISING fans: I'm going to push back. We're going to push back.
There's a pause on the heels of a pop from the crowd.
GRIFFIN HAWKINS
My goals haven't changed. I will make history and become UPRISING Champion for a third time. And Mosh..if somehow by some miracle of happenstance you're still champion by the time I get to you? I will do what I've been doing since day one and beat your ass. In the meantime, enjoy your little celebration tonight. Hold your championship tight. Let that security blanket you call a manager pat herself on the back about how "amazing" she is while you lie to the world and yourself about how "good" you are. Get it all out of your systems. Because the next time we meet in that ring, the party will be officially over.
He pauses, taking a deep breath.
GRIFFIN HAWKINS
Tonight, though, it isn't about you. Back in December, we were all hit with the sad news the Casino Kid Justin York has decided to ride off into the sunset for the last time. He decided that it was time to hang the boots up...but not before he goes out with a series of bangers. And one of the first people he wanted to share a ring with...is the Jukebox Hero. Now...I really got no beef with Justin York. Hell, we both got a lot in common: we both come from Canada, we have the need to steal the show, and we both know what it's like to be the man on top of the mountain. Course..difference is, not a lot of people in the wrestling world like York. Hell, the only person more hated than him is probably Elon Musk. But I think it's admirable. Dude's got a chip on his shoulder the size of the Titanic. He's good...and he wants the whole world to know it. And now, I get to see just how fucking good the Casino Kid really is.
He paces a little as he looks to the camera.
GRIFFIN HAWKINS
My only problem is you referring to me as a "tune up". So I'm gonna have to stop you right there, bro. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a warm up for nobody. Every night, whether I'm opening the show, or closing it...I give my opponent everything they can handle, and I give the people a goddamn show that they are going to be talking about the next morning. I know you probably see me as an appetizer for Thaddeus Duke but I don't want you to look past me. My road back to the championship gold begins tonight...and I want to start it off on the right foot. I wish you all the luck in the world against Thad. He's a hard act to follow, for sure. But tonight, prepare for a fucking war.
He leans in closer to the camera.
GRIFFIN HAWKINS
It is unfortunate that your body has betrayed you. It's also unfortunate that this will be our one and only meeting. So tonight we give these people a show that they are going to tell their Grandkids about. In 2022, I made history in UPRISING. I set the trends. I wrecked everything, everywhere. I pissed off everyone who said it was going to be "their year". And now tonight, right in the heart of Jukebox Country, The Casino Kid is gonna get rocked!
He walks out of the shot. In the wake of his passage, a piece of paper that was taped to the wall comes loose and flutters to the floor. The camera zooms in on it before we cut away to our opening video package.
CUT TO:
INT. THE UNITED CENTER — THE RING.
OPENING CONTEST
UNITY DIVISION MATCH
THE FAMILY CROWE vs JOBBER JANE D'OH!S
Referee Justin “Big J” Soames calls for the bell rings with Silas Crowe and Sally FKA standing across from one another in the ring. Silas, a near seven footer, towers over Sally by over a foot and a half. The elder Crowe has a twisted grin on his face while Sally lifts her hands defiantly, ready to go.
They both rush to the center of the ring. Silas throws a tree-trunk of an arm at her throat but Sally ducks and moves to his flank. She throws several hard kicks to the back of his thigh. He shrugs them off, and turns around to grab her by the hair. She tries to pull free as he raises his right fist into the air but before he can drop the hammer into her face she kicks him hard in the knee cap. His leg buckles. She’s free as he reaches down to his leg.
The father, Wade Crowe, is screaming from ringside while holding that barbed wire bat he calls The Peacemaker over his shoulder. Sally bounces off the ropes then leaps forward, landing a middle dropkick to Silas’s leg. He loses his footing and falls to one knee.
Sally runs across from him and uses the ropes again to rubberband back with frantic speed. She leaps forward to deliver a hard front dropkick to his sternum. He falls backward and is laid out on the mat. Sally rushes to the corner to tag in Jessica “Jobber Jane” Carter. She climbs up the corner to the top rope before leaping off. Frog splash! Here’s the cover!
ONE!
TWO—NO!
TWO—NO!
Silas presses her off his chest and sends her flying overhead. She hits the canvas and rolls over, holding her stomach. He sits up and tries to stand, but is clearly favoring that leg. He begins to hobble over to reach Otis’s outstretched hand.
Jessica gets to her feet and rushes to intercede. She begins kicking the back of his thigh. He winces from the pain and falls forward, but his reach is so great that as he falls his outstretched hand meets his brother’s.
Otis stares daggers at Jessica for several seconds, earning a warning from Soames before he finally moves through the ropes. She backs up to the middle of the ring and readies herself.
Otis lurches forward, throwing both arms to grab her. They briefly lock up before she twists his arm behind him with a hammerlock. He starts laughing at the attempt as she puts everything into forcing it up his back. He continues to howl as he easily moves his arm down and around, despite her efforts to keep it locked. He then turns and delivers a massive lariat that sends her flipping end over end before landing on her stomach.
He turns and runs for the ropes. His 310 pounds nearly shifts the ring as he stretches them out over the apron before he barrels back and jumps, landing on Jessica with a running splash. He sits up long enough to roll her over before covering for the pin.
ONE!
TWO!
THRE—KICK OUT!
TWO!
THRE—KICK OUT!
A breath away from losing, she fires a shoulder into the air, surprising damn near everyone in the building. In her corner, Sally is clapping her hands together, trying to get the crowd behind them. A shot of Wade Crowe shows him getting into an argument with a rainbow-shirt-wearing fan.
Otis grabs Jessica by the hair and yanks her to her feet before turning and whipping her across the canvas to a neutral corner. He then darts to his right and slams an elbow into Sally’s face, sending her to the floor while also earning a cascade of boos from the crowd and a stern admonishment from Soames.
Otis then runs down the length of rope, but he gave Jessica too much time to recover. She moves aside and he crashes into the turnbuckle and readies herself. He spins around and bends over, holding his chest, lowering his head just enough for her to nail a spinning heel kick!
He straightens up, stiff as a board, and takes three steps before falling forward like a chopped down redwood. She doesn’t go for the pin, but rather hurries to find her partner back up on the apron.
Sally tags in and is fired up! Otis has forced himself up onto his knees. She runs past him for the ropes. On the return, she jumps over him while locking her arms around his neck! SALLY-GO-ROUND (Somersault Cutter)!!! Otis bounces off the mat and lands on his back. She climbs on top of him and covers!
ONE!
TWO!
THR—KICK OUT!
TWO!
THR—KICK OUT!
Silas is holding his hand out over the top rope as their father Wade looks on with concern. Sally leaps to her feet and stomps Otis’s face. He rolls away, shielding his face from a further kick, but she works down his body, from his ribs to his kidney to his lower spine.
He finds a neutral corner and pulls himself to his feet by the ropes. Sally continues to land snapping kicks, now to his legs. He fights through them to throw a flat fist into her forehead and she crumbles to the mat.
He picks her up, wraps his massive arms around her chest with her one arm over his shoulder, then lifts her up before dropping her hard into the mat with a URA-NAGE!
Sally is unconscious in the middle of the ring. Otis stands up before turning to tag in his brother. Silas moves to Sally’s feet while his brother stands above her head. They reach down, grabbing all four limbs, before effortlessly hoisting her up into the air. COME TO JESUS (Skylift Slam)!!!
After Sally smashes into the mat, Soames chases Otis out of the ring. Silas, who’s leg seems to have recovered from the earlier attacks, walks around her while waving his arms to further stoke the rage of the crowd. After several seconds, he returns his attention to his opponent. He bends down to grab her around the waist before lifting her dead weight up onto his chest. MOUNTAIN TOP DROP (Sheer Drop Powerbomb)!!! Sally is laid out! Silas moves to place his boot in her chest and raises his arms into the air!
ONE!
TWO!!
THRE…
NO! KICKOUT!
SALLY REACHES DOWN AND FINDS A WAY TO THROW A SHOULDER UP! Silas can’t believe it! Otis and Wade can’t either! Jessica bounces on the bottom rope, shouting encouragement to her partner! Silas tags in his brother who comes in hot. He grabs Sally off the mat and lifts her head down on his shoulder with both legs hooked… CATTLE GUN (Muscle Buster)!!!
ONE!
TWO!!
THRE…
SHE KICKS OUT AGAIN! Pure instinct drives an arm into the air! Wade Crowe’s eyes are as big as saucers! Otis slams his hands into the ring floor before turning his anger to the referee. The two men argue back and forth for several seconds. Outside the ring, Wade Crowe suddenly yells out a strange phrase.
WADE
REAP THE HARVEST, BOYS!
Otis shoves Soames aside and drops to pick Sally up. He carries her over to his team’s corner. Silas grabs her arms, holding her in position as Otis starts to nail back elbows to her jaw. Soames counts to five to force the break but neither of the Crowe brothers listen. He is forced to put himself in between Otis and Sally, forcing him off her. Both brothers raise their hands, pleading their innocence and Soames threatens them with a DQ. He orders Otis away before turning his attention to check on Sally.
Otis backtracks several feet, nearly completely across the ring. Jessica is trying to get his attention, maybe seeing what’s about to happen coming from a mile away. He sprints forward, rattling the ring with each step, before crashing into Soames’ back and crushing both him and Sally. The building rattles with boots as the referee and Sally FKA end up in a heap on the mat.
Jessica drops down off the apron and goes to the time keeper’s table, where she finds an empty chair. After folding it up she turns to carry it into the ring—but Wade Crowe is there! He smashes the head of the bat into her face, knocking her out! The patriarch then moves to slide into the ring and stands as both brothers now parade around the ring. Wade screams loud enough that the ringside microphones pick up his words.
WADE
And he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD!
Silas and Otis reach take one of Sally’s arms and drag her to the middle of the ring. Silas holds her up by the shoulders while Otis grabs a handful of hair to hold her head up. Wade starts to swing the back around.
In the background, a fan stands in the front row and climbs over the barricade, perhaps being driven to foolishly intervene. The person has a hood pulled down over their face. They run around the ring to pick the chair up off the floor next to the KO’d Jessica as the crowd starts to cheer. With it in hand, the unidentified person slides into the ring before Wade.
The brothers let go of Sally and try to warn their father. Wade doesn’t have time to react before that chair blasts him across the shoulders. He falls to his knees and drops the bat. The fan then lifts the chair overhead and smashes it on the back of his head. The impact bends the seat inward, leaving the steel wrapped around his neck like a collar before he falls over awkwardly.
Otis runs at the attacker. They grab him by the arm and turn, executing a perfect Harai Goshi judo throw, tossing him over their hip and hard into the canvas. Silas points an angry finger at the unknown person and starts spewing out warnings while they bend down to pick that barbed-wire bat off the floor. They then reach up to pull the hood back to reveal—
YELENA GORGO.
Chicago can’t believe it! Silas releases Sally, letting her fall to the side, and steps over her to charge Gorgo. The Mad Queen swings the bat into his stomach. Then, when he doubles over, she rakes the barbed-wire across his forehead, slicing him open and sending blood splattering across the canvas as he falls backward.
Otis is up. He slams his arm into her back. She stumbles forward but quickly turns around to thrust the bat’s head into his ribs before slamming it straight into his face. He falls to the mat unconscious.
Soames lifts his head to see the carnage in the ring, with Sally and the three Crowes littering the ring around the bat-wielding Gorgo. He rises to his feet to signal the bell. The announcer rushes around the ring to where he’s sitting up and they briefly hold a discussion. After a few seconds, the announcement goes out of the PA system.
WINNER: NO CONTEST
The fickle fans boo the ruling, but more than a few are still behind Gorgo as she walks past the standing referee to climb through the ropes. She drops down off the apron and walks slowly up the ramp with the bat over her shoulder. A steadicam follows her closely, and its microphone picks up her whistling. Smart fans at home will recognize it as a slow version of the old song, Froggie Went a-Courtin'.