WarHead: This kid's got something on his mind. I can see it on his face.
Jim "The Amp" Johnson: Well, he's had a rough go of it lately.
[As Tornado is about to step into the ring his music stops and Warlock's music begins to play. Warlock appears and walks to the ring with a straight face.]
Jim "The Amp" Johnson: I'm checking my notes. I'm not aware of these guys having a match. I'm not sure what's going on here.
[Warlock climbs into the ring and shakes hands with Tornado. They both look around the arena. Tornado walks over to the corner of the ring and retrieves microphones for himself and Warlock.]
WarHead: This is definitely unusual. What is going on here?
Tornado: There are a lot of guys in the NRWL locker room these days. None of them have it any harder than guys like Warlock and myself. Other wrestlers come in and make a name for themselves with a clean slate. The climb to the top isn't scrutinized from the start. They are given time to grow. Not us. We are both second generation wrestlers. My father, Cyclone, is one of the greatest fighters in SCSF history. Warlock's father, The Druid, was an iconic member of the MoW roster. For those reasons alone, we are held to a higher standard.
Warlock: We came here to make names for ourselves, not to cater to people who just want to see more of their retired heroes. We aren't here so people can use us to latch onto their memories of the past. We have our own legacies to build.
Tornado: Even in the locker room, we don't quite fit in back there. The boys in the back don't give us the same amount of respect they give each other. It's like they don't believe we earned our spots in this company the same way they did. It's gotten old fast. So, we decided that it's time to stick together. If everyone is against us, then we might as well have each others' backs.
Warlock: But... two isn't enough.
[Nirvana's "Scentless Apprentice" begins to play through the arena. The crowd looks to the stage, waiting for someone to come out. A section of fans start to make noise. As attention shifts to them, a man in a hoodie and faded jeans comes walking toward the ring from the crowd.]
WarHead: Hey! Is that Mark Blood?
Jim "The Amp" Johnson: We haven't seen him lately. Where has he been?
[Mark Blood jumps the barricade and climbs into the ring. Warlock hands him his microphone. Mark Blood waits for the audience to settle before speaking.]
Mark Blood: If there is anyone who knows the difficulty of being given the shaft by the NRWL for being a second generation wrestler, it's me. Ever since I came here it's been an uphill battle. All I ever wanted to do was work my way to the top and become the champion, just like my friends in the ring here. But right from the start, I've been treated like a black sheep.
[The crowd begins to get noisy again with mixed emotions. Some supportive, others negative.]
Mark Blood: OK, so you want proof? Where do I begin? Right from the start, the office decreed me as a disappointment because I didn't win the NRWL Championship tournament when this company relaunched. Somehow, the second generation guy should have picked up the torch right off the bat. Remember the Colors Tournament? Johnny Young's team won that tournament. Ash's team lost. One of his excuses for losing? That I was on his team. I never forgot that. Last season, these two [Mark points to the announcer's table] continued to say "if he loses this match, he's done", "he's hasn't won a match in quite a while", while ignoring the fact that a lot of guys had lackluster showings all season long. I'm still here. Some of those other guys aren't. Let's not forget that I was involved in some of the more interesting, long running feuds with some of this industries biggest names. Johnny Young and I brawled many times. I took John Fraust to the absolute limits. Bruno, Slam Jackson, I could go on. Despite what I've done for this company I've never gotten respect... except from you fans.
[Mark Blood points to the people in the audience.]
Mark Blood: The reason I am still here is because you people always saw me for who I was. A fighter. One who kept getting into the ring no matter what. How many guys stayed out of the ring last season with injuries? I was almost blinded, and yet, I came back week after week and competed while other guys hosted awful talk shows or pretended to be injured worse than they were for sympathy. NRWL never cared that I kept going. You people did. That is why I came to this ring through the crowd tonight. The NRWL offices and locker room gave me the cold shoulder but you always stuck by me. Thank you.
[The crowd cheers for themselves.]
Mark Blood: I also noticed your appreciation for Tornado and Warlock. You cheer for them. You hold up signs in support of them despite the company ignoring them. These guys deserve better than the way this company perceives them. So we got together, the three of us, and decided that working together to fight the system is the way to succeed.
Tornado: This company wants us to stand in for our fathers, not be ourselves. The only way to prove them wrong is to fight back. This is your official notice. We're taking over and we're doing it our own way.
[Suddenly, Hardcore Adam's music begins to play and he steps out onto the stage with Tiger Johnson. Both men walk down to the ring and climb in.]
Jim "The Amp" Johnson: Adam and Tiger? What is this about?
WarHead: Who cares! I'm still stinging from Mark Blood critiquing my announcing!
Jim "The Amp" Johnson: He jabbed both of us.
WarHead: Yeah, but I can't totally fault him for taking a jab at you, Amp.
Jim "The Amp" Johnson: Funny.
[Adam and Tiger both have microphones in hand.]
Hardcore Adam: Whoa, whoa. Guys. What is this about? Mark, Tornado, I've been tag team partners with both of you. Warlock, we've traveled together between shows. We're all friends here. You never told me you were this upset. I have to be honest. I think you're making a bigger deal out of this than it needs to be.
Tiger Johnson: Hey, I get it. I mean, we are both good friends of all of your fathers and we--
Tornado: And that's the problem! You don't get it! It's not about our fathers. This is about what's best for us and only us.
Mark Blood: We aren't asking for much. We just want to be put against the same measuring stick as everyone else. We respect our families' legacies. We respect those who came before us. We just don't want to be treated like disappointments because we haven't been the replacements. We've only tried to be ourselves.
Tiger Johnson: We don't see you that way. We don't. We just think this tirade on the NRWL is a little extreme.
Hardcore Adam: Why didn't you talk to us about this? You know you can trust us.
Tornado: We're doing this alone.
Mark Blood: And let's not kid ourselves here, Adam. What are you going to do about it?
Hardcore Adam: We could work together to figure something out.
[Mark shakes his head and starts to turn around to walk away in frustration. Tiger grabs his shoulder.]
Tiger Johnson: Come on. Just listen to the man.
[Mark throws Tiger's hand off of his shoulder. He gets in Tiger's face.]
Mark Blood: We made it clear the three of us are doing this together. If you want to get in our way, fine. You two against Tornado and me.
[Hardcore Adam takes off his sunglasses and steps toe to toe with Tornado. Warlock steps up behind Mark Blood and Tornado. All five men hold a tense stare down before Adam and Tiger step out of the ring.]
WarHead: I think it's safe to say we have a match.
Jim "The Amp" Johnson: These kids have a huge chip on their shoulder. I hope Hardcore Adam and Tiger Johnson know what they've gotten themselves in the middle of. This could get ugly.
