Post by Bruce "The Beast" Richards on Apr 29, 2007 22:03:31 GMT -5
<Monday Night>
(The lobby of the Ramada Inn-Blue Ridge in Raleigh North Carolina. A young man stands at the counter, trying to arrange rooms for the night, while a young woman stands just off to the side holding a few bags. The lobby's brightly lit, and aside from the couple and the one employee behind the counter, there's only one other person in the lobby. Bruce "The Beast" Richards sits in one of the purple leather chairs and watches for movement outside the window. He squints, trying to make out forms behind the glass; his shoulders tense and his hands touch the armrests, as if ready to strike. But then, he relaxes. The percieved threat is gone. And he sits back down in the chair. Then, he turns to the camera and starts talking.)
BRUCE RICHARDS: People wonder why I came here. My sometime tag team partner, my manager, my girlfriend, and, yes, even the fans themselves. "Why'd you punk out Caliban last month, Bruce?" "Why'd you come to Raleigh, Mr. Richards?" "What are you planning to do with Caliban in that ring tomorrow, Beast?" They've got me questioning my own motivations. It didn't help that Iago was playing games with me, trying to use me like I was his own personal marionette. But here's the thing: I don't like to be toyed with. And I don't like having the people I care about threatened. I hope I made my point earlier, because I will not let any more harrassment go unanswered. But I would like to talk to those people who wondered what brought me here to REBEL Pro.
(Bruce leans forward in his chair, elbows on his knees, and hunches his shoulders up a little. He seems a little stiff, like he's been sitting in the chair for a while now.)
BRUCE RICHARDS: When it first opened, the thought about going to REBEL Pro was very tempting. An opportunity to get in on the ground floor of one of the most talked-about promotions to come along in a long time? Sure, I could have done that, but I felt bad about jumping ship from NAPW, the place that had given me everything I had. And then Kyle Roberts announced that he'd signed a REBEL exclusive, and that clinched it: no REBEL contract for Bruce Richards. As intriguing as the prospect was, I didn't want to have to see that two-faced cheat again every week. But when I saw the opportunity to dip my toe in the waters here and dole out a long-overdue ass-kicking at the same time? I just couldn't resist. You see, I never got to fight Caliban when he was in the NAPW. He came, made a big impact, and then faded away. Just like a Roman Candle: big noise, big flash, and then...nothing. I always wondered what it would be like to go up against him, and when he left I put that in the "What Could Have Been" column of my old ledger. But then, months later, and Caliban shows his face again, this time in REBEL Pro. And I took the chance to strike that never-was moment from the record books, and turn it into something to remember.
(Bruce picks up his coffee mug and takes a sip; he makes a face at the bitter taste, but takes another sip anyway, trying to wash it away with more of the same.)
BRUCE RICHARDS: But why REBEL Pro, and not an NAPW match? I could have probably convinced Rex Caliber to get Iago to bring Caliban to Edmonton, even if he would have to be shipped in a crate in storage, and take him down in my own turf. But I came here to REBEL Pro for a few reasons. Firstly, yeah, the idea of REBEL Pro intrigued me. No holds barred, brutal action? I haven't had much of that lately, but I'm no stranger to it. Superstar Rules matches, Six Man Ladder matches, and the simple yet effective Hardcore match. I like a technical contest, sure, but it's a completely different thing to try and pull off a win while your opponent's beating you with a sock full of quarters and you're kneeling on broken glass. I thought I needed that kind of experience again, to show people that I still had it in me.
(The young couple behind him start arguing with the hotel clerk about their room; Bruce turns to glance at them, studying them, then turns back to the camera.)
BRUCE RICHARDS: Another reason I came here was because I knew that in the NAPW, Caliban might get a little overexcited, forget about the rules of the game, and pull some stupid stunt that might get himself disqualified. I couldn't have that. I needed him in his own environment, the world of REBEL Pro, where anything goes, so that I could fight him without restriction.
(Bruce cracks his knuckles by making two fists, then relaxes and leans back in the chair again.)
BRUCE RICHARDS: But it's not just that. I needed to walk into the monster's den and hurt him where he lived. So that when I get the win, he and the rest of his whole travelling freakshow would know that someone could come in and beat them at their own game, and walk out into the real world. Miranda, Iago, and Caliban are all set apart from the world; they're all monstrous, in some way or another. Physically, emotionally, mentally...they're each of them deformed. And they emphasize their misshapenness, make it a badge that sets them apart, and try and pull people down to wallow with them. They want me to play that game with them. Fine, I'll do it. I'll go in there and be the vicious person they want me to be. I can do that. I do it every night I wrestle. I walk in the ring, in control and sure of myself, and go to work trying to take someone else apart. But there's always that one point in the night, where I get sick and tired of toying with my opponent, or I get sick and tired of them toying with me. And that's when I lose it. That's when The Beast comes out.
(Bruce leans forward and stares directly into the camera. He points his finger at it, to emphasize his words.)
BRUCE RICHARDS: Iago, you think you're really going to pull off some sort of miracle tomorrow night? That you've lined up all your pawns just right, that you're going to snap and then I'll be a part of your little menagerie? You think that you're going to be the one who finally lets The Beast out? Tell that to your new ally Kyle Roberts, and ask him who he was fighting at Sole Survivor when he was bleeding from the mouth. Ask Sebastien Martyr who broke his winning streak. Ask Simply Beautiful who it was that needed three New York Nightmares to finally be subdued. They're all going to tell you it was The Beast. (Shakes his head.) Iago wants to turn me into his next monster? I'm already a monster. When I get in that ring, when the show's on, the cage door opens and The Beast comes out. It's just that I'm the one who holds the keys to my own cage. I don't need a lady with a bullwhip or a reject from Tim Burton's Flying Circus to keep control of me. I go in there, I get my work done, and I come back out and go to the real world. That's what scares them: they know that there's something dark inside me, something that they can identify with...and yet I can walk around with regular people, live my life. Everyone's got the darkness inside them: it's what you do with it that matters. I use mine to do the one thing I've wanted to do with my life since I was five years old: be a professional wrestler. They use theirs to intimidate and terrify, hoping that other people won't see just how scared they are by the rest of the world. They reject us before we can reject them. Because it's easier. I almost feel bad for them. Almost. (Grins.) And then I remember how badly I want to throw Caliban around that ring, to show people just how powerful The Beast really is, and I remember what they were willing to do to me to satisfy their twisted little lives. And I don't feel so bad for them any more.
(Bruce leans back again, more relaxed now that he's got that out of his system. The grin fades from his face, but he's still got a hint of a smile going. A thin layer of contentment wrapped around the menace of his voice.)
BRUCE RICHARDS: I hope that Iago and Miranda got their little pranks out of them and are moving on. I hope that they realized how very, very serious I was about taking the fight right to them if they interfered with me and mine one more time. But part of me hopes that they might be cocky, or stupid, enough to pull something else. That someone who doesn't belong here will show up tonight. And I'll get to start the show a little early.
(Bruce Richards takes another sip of the foul complimentary coffee, then back in the chair and stares out at the glass doors...searching for whatever monsters might lie out there. Fade to black.)
(The lobby of the Ramada Inn-Blue Ridge in Raleigh North Carolina. A young man stands at the counter, trying to arrange rooms for the night, while a young woman stands just off to the side holding a few bags. The lobby's brightly lit, and aside from the couple and the one employee behind the counter, there's only one other person in the lobby. Bruce "The Beast" Richards sits in one of the purple leather chairs and watches for movement outside the window. He squints, trying to make out forms behind the glass; his shoulders tense and his hands touch the armrests, as if ready to strike. But then, he relaxes. The percieved threat is gone. And he sits back down in the chair. Then, he turns to the camera and starts talking.)
BRUCE RICHARDS: People wonder why I came here. My sometime tag team partner, my manager, my girlfriend, and, yes, even the fans themselves. "Why'd you punk out Caliban last month, Bruce?" "Why'd you come to Raleigh, Mr. Richards?" "What are you planning to do with Caliban in that ring tomorrow, Beast?" They've got me questioning my own motivations. It didn't help that Iago was playing games with me, trying to use me like I was his own personal marionette. But here's the thing: I don't like to be toyed with. And I don't like having the people I care about threatened. I hope I made my point earlier, because I will not let any more harrassment go unanswered. But I would like to talk to those people who wondered what brought me here to REBEL Pro.
(Bruce leans forward in his chair, elbows on his knees, and hunches his shoulders up a little. He seems a little stiff, like he's been sitting in the chair for a while now.)
BRUCE RICHARDS: When it first opened, the thought about going to REBEL Pro was very tempting. An opportunity to get in on the ground floor of one of the most talked-about promotions to come along in a long time? Sure, I could have done that, but I felt bad about jumping ship from NAPW, the place that had given me everything I had. And then Kyle Roberts announced that he'd signed a REBEL exclusive, and that clinched it: no REBEL contract for Bruce Richards. As intriguing as the prospect was, I didn't want to have to see that two-faced cheat again every week. But when I saw the opportunity to dip my toe in the waters here and dole out a long-overdue ass-kicking at the same time? I just couldn't resist. You see, I never got to fight Caliban when he was in the NAPW. He came, made a big impact, and then faded away. Just like a Roman Candle: big noise, big flash, and then...nothing. I always wondered what it would be like to go up against him, and when he left I put that in the "What Could Have Been" column of my old ledger. But then, months later, and Caliban shows his face again, this time in REBEL Pro. And I took the chance to strike that never-was moment from the record books, and turn it into something to remember.
(Bruce picks up his coffee mug and takes a sip; he makes a face at the bitter taste, but takes another sip anyway, trying to wash it away with more of the same.)
BRUCE RICHARDS: But why REBEL Pro, and not an NAPW match? I could have probably convinced Rex Caliber to get Iago to bring Caliban to Edmonton, even if he would have to be shipped in a crate in storage, and take him down in my own turf. But I came here to REBEL Pro for a few reasons. Firstly, yeah, the idea of REBEL Pro intrigued me. No holds barred, brutal action? I haven't had much of that lately, but I'm no stranger to it. Superstar Rules matches, Six Man Ladder matches, and the simple yet effective Hardcore match. I like a technical contest, sure, but it's a completely different thing to try and pull off a win while your opponent's beating you with a sock full of quarters and you're kneeling on broken glass. I thought I needed that kind of experience again, to show people that I still had it in me.
(The young couple behind him start arguing with the hotel clerk about their room; Bruce turns to glance at them, studying them, then turns back to the camera.)
BRUCE RICHARDS: Another reason I came here was because I knew that in the NAPW, Caliban might get a little overexcited, forget about the rules of the game, and pull some stupid stunt that might get himself disqualified. I couldn't have that. I needed him in his own environment, the world of REBEL Pro, where anything goes, so that I could fight him without restriction.
(Bruce cracks his knuckles by making two fists, then relaxes and leans back in the chair again.)
BRUCE RICHARDS: But it's not just that. I needed to walk into the monster's den and hurt him where he lived. So that when I get the win, he and the rest of his whole travelling freakshow would know that someone could come in and beat them at their own game, and walk out into the real world. Miranda, Iago, and Caliban are all set apart from the world; they're all monstrous, in some way or another. Physically, emotionally, mentally...they're each of them deformed. And they emphasize their misshapenness, make it a badge that sets them apart, and try and pull people down to wallow with them. They want me to play that game with them. Fine, I'll do it. I'll go in there and be the vicious person they want me to be. I can do that. I do it every night I wrestle. I walk in the ring, in control and sure of myself, and go to work trying to take someone else apart. But there's always that one point in the night, where I get sick and tired of toying with my opponent, or I get sick and tired of them toying with me. And that's when I lose it. That's when The Beast comes out.
(Bruce leans forward and stares directly into the camera. He points his finger at it, to emphasize his words.)
BRUCE RICHARDS: Iago, you think you're really going to pull off some sort of miracle tomorrow night? That you've lined up all your pawns just right, that you're going to snap and then I'll be a part of your little menagerie? You think that you're going to be the one who finally lets The Beast out? Tell that to your new ally Kyle Roberts, and ask him who he was fighting at Sole Survivor when he was bleeding from the mouth. Ask Sebastien Martyr who broke his winning streak. Ask Simply Beautiful who it was that needed three New York Nightmares to finally be subdued. They're all going to tell you it was The Beast. (Shakes his head.) Iago wants to turn me into his next monster? I'm already a monster. When I get in that ring, when the show's on, the cage door opens and The Beast comes out. It's just that I'm the one who holds the keys to my own cage. I don't need a lady with a bullwhip or a reject from Tim Burton's Flying Circus to keep control of me. I go in there, I get my work done, and I come back out and go to the real world. That's what scares them: they know that there's something dark inside me, something that they can identify with...and yet I can walk around with regular people, live my life. Everyone's got the darkness inside them: it's what you do with it that matters. I use mine to do the one thing I've wanted to do with my life since I was five years old: be a professional wrestler. They use theirs to intimidate and terrify, hoping that other people won't see just how scared they are by the rest of the world. They reject us before we can reject them. Because it's easier. I almost feel bad for them. Almost. (Grins.) And then I remember how badly I want to throw Caliban around that ring, to show people just how powerful The Beast really is, and I remember what they were willing to do to me to satisfy their twisted little lives. And I don't feel so bad for them any more.
(Bruce leans back again, more relaxed now that he's got that out of his system. The grin fades from his face, but he's still got a hint of a smile going. A thin layer of contentment wrapped around the menace of his voice.)
BRUCE RICHARDS: I hope that Iago and Miranda got their little pranks out of them and are moving on. I hope that they realized how very, very serious I was about taking the fight right to them if they interfered with me and mine one more time. But part of me hopes that they might be cocky, or stupid, enough to pull something else. That someone who doesn't belong here will show up tonight. And I'll get to start the show a little early.
(Bruce Richards takes another sip of the foul complimentary coffee, then back in the chair and stares out at the glass doors...searching for whatever monsters might lie out there. Fade to black.)