[Long] Immediately after NPW 1/24/22
Jan 29, 2022 15:31:27 GMT -5
BRAVE1 and Jesse Jamester like this
Post by Old Line Jeff on Jan 29, 2022 15:31:27 GMT -5
[Backstage.]
[We’ve seen a scene similar to this one before. Just… maybe a little bit less intense.]
[Ronnie Long, a small open wound surrounded by crusty dried blood on his forehead, is seething, stomping through the hallways.]
Long: DAMIEN!
[There’s no answer.]
[Gus Arnold’s door is wide open. Daeriq Damien is not in there, and so Long doesn’t stop. He storms down the hall until he gets to the double doors leading outside and kicks them open, mindless of the freezing cold Halifax weather.]
[Daeriq Damien is walking towards a waiting car.]
Long: DAMIEN!
[Daeriq Damien’s head gives a small jerk, as though he were trying to act as though he didn’t hear, but he couldn’t help it. He doesn’t turn around though, and Long breaks into a sprint.]
[Just as Damien pulls the car door open, Long catches up. He boots the door shut, spins and grabs Damien by the lapels of his suit.]
Long: What the hell did I tell you last time?
Damien: Ron, you need to be careful. Running outside in this cold without a shirt, especially all sweaty after a match. You’ll catch pneumonia.
[Long looks at Damien for a few seconds, without moving a muscle.]
[Then, almost in one motion, he yanks the car door open, grabs Damien’s bad right arm, places it inside the door, and pushes the door shut. Not hard enough to do damage in and of itself, but trapping Damien’s arm between door and frame.]
Long: I swear to god…
Damien: Do it.
[A tense standoff. Long’s foot against the door, Damien’s arm stuck inside it, and Kirsty McKinney having climbed out the driver’s side with a tire iron in hand, but too far away to intervene.]
[This is the scene that Gus Arnold arrives at.]
Arnold: Ron.
[Ronnie turns to look at Gus Arnold for a second, then back at Damien.]
Damien: DO IT!
[Long’s teeth are clenched.]
Damien: Show us that fire, Ron. Do some damage. My arm doesn’t work anymore anyway, I can take it. Let that monster out to play, Ron. Slam that door, SLAM THAT FUCKING DOOR!
[Long boots Damien in the ribs instead, sending him rolling across the salty, slushy parking lot.]
Long: I’ve stood behind the other Untouchables for years - for a decade - because they were my friends. Now I’ve finally got something of my own going, and my first match, my first fucking title match, and I lose, because YOU…
[He kicks Damien again. McKinney’s hands are white knuckled around that tire iron, but she doesn’t do anything.]
Long: Can’t keep your nose out of my business long enough for me to finish a match, and you…
[He glares at Gus Arnold.]
Long: Can’t keep him out of my hair.
[Gus Arnold frowns.]
Arnold: Ron, let’s talk. Daeriq, you’ve caused enough trouble for tonight, just get out of here.
[Damien staggers to his feet, his seafoam green suit stained with saltwater.]
Damien: Can’t keep the beast leashed forever Ron. Might consider letting him loose on your own terms before he snaps it and gets out on his terms.
[Long starts to turn around, but a hand on the back keeps him headed in the direction of the building. Without further event Damien and McKinney climb into the car and drive off.]
[Inside Gus Arnold’s office.]
Arnold: I know you’ve had a tough couple weeks, so I’m not bothered about tonight. I am, however, curious. You said something about standing behind the other Untouchables?
Long: Yeah. Jeff Andrews is… well, you’ve met him, you know what he’s like. Everything takes a back seat to him when he starts Jeffing. And I’ve never seen anyone beloved like Heidi was back in the CAL days. Plus, before DEFIANCE she was the absolute nicest person, and I had done her some wrongs early on, I owed her once.
Arnold: I am a promoter, I understand these things.
Long: Also to be fair, riding on their coattails to tag title runs was easy and profitable. But really, the only way I could’ve gotten out from under their shadows was to turn on them. Hell, I DID get out of their shadows that way once, I won the WWA World Title while feuding with Jeff.
Arnold: But you made peace with them.
Long: Wrestling’s a weird business. Some of the most heinous things are forgiven, purely out of convenience.
Arnold: Yes. I’ve been doing this for a long time, you know - the territorial scene may be making something of a comeback, but I miss the days before national companies became a thing. Anyway. You remember what you said to me right after you won the Openweight, right?
Long: I want to do something that no other Untouchable ever did. Double champion.
[Pause.]
Long: Double singles champion, I mean. Kai Scott held the IWA Tag and IWA Hardcore at the same time.
Arnold: And I said don’t look too far ahead. I’m not opposed to it, but you need to establish yourself as a great Openweight champion. A good champion defends the belt, eventually loses it, and moves up. You need to be better than good.
Long: Yeah, and this was not the start I’d hoped for.
Arnold: You’ve got room for improvement, but it’s a lot easier to win by countout than pinfall - that’s why Carner isn’t the champion now. Anyway, I’ve got something you might be interested in. Non-title, but how would you be interested in a champion versus champion match?
[We fade here.]
[We’ve seen a scene similar to this one before. Just… maybe a little bit less intense.]
[Ronnie Long, a small open wound surrounded by crusty dried blood on his forehead, is seething, stomping through the hallways.]
Long: DAMIEN!
[There’s no answer.]
[Gus Arnold’s door is wide open. Daeriq Damien is not in there, and so Long doesn’t stop. He storms down the hall until he gets to the double doors leading outside and kicks them open, mindless of the freezing cold Halifax weather.]
[Daeriq Damien is walking towards a waiting car.]
Long: DAMIEN!
[Daeriq Damien’s head gives a small jerk, as though he were trying to act as though he didn’t hear, but he couldn’t help it. He doesn’t turn around though, and Long breaks into a sprint.]
[Just as Damien pulls the car door open, Long catches up. He boots the door shut, spins and grabs Damien by the lapels of his suit.]
Long: What the hell did I tell you last time?
Damien: Ron, you need to be careful. Running outside in this cold without a shirt, especially all sweaty after a match. You’ll catch pneumonia.
[Long looks at Damien for a few seconds, without moving a muscle.]
[Then, almost in one motion, he yanks the car door open, grabs Damien’s bad right arm, places it inside the door, and pushes the door shut. Not hard enough to do damage in and of itself, but trapping Damien’s arm between door and frame.]
Long: I swear to god…
Damien: Do it.
[A tense standoff. Long’s foot against the door, Damien’s arm stuck inside it, and Kirsty McKinney having climbed out the driver’s side with a tire iron in hand, but too far away to intervene.]
[This is the scene that Gus Arnold arrives at.]
Arnold: Ron.
[Ronnie turns to look at Gus Arnold for a second, then back at Damien.]
Damien: DO IT!
[Long’s teeth are clenched.]
Damien: Show us that fire, Ron. Do some damage. My arm doesn’t work anymore anyway, I can take it. Let that monster out to play, Ron. Slam that door, SLAM THAT FUCKING DOOR!
[Long boots Damien in the ribs instead, sending him rolling across the salty, slushy parking lot.]
Long: I’ve stood behind the other Untouchables for years - for a decade - because they were my friends. Now I’ve finally got something of my own going, and my first match, my first fucking title match, and I lose, because YOU…
[He kicks Damien again. McKinney’s hands are white knuckled around that tire iron, but she doesn’t do anything.]
Long: Can’t keep your nose out of my business long enough for me to finish a match, and you…
[He glares at Gus Arnold.]
Long: Can’t keep him out of my hair.
[Gus Arnold frowns.]
Arnold: Ron, let’s talk. Daeriq, you’ve caused enough trouble for tonight, just get out of here.
[Damien staggers to his feet, his seafoam green suit stained with saltwater.]
Damien: Can’t keep the beast leashed forever Ron. Might consider letting him loose on your own terms before he snaps it and gets out on his terms.
[Long starts to turn around, but a hand on the back keeps him headed in the direction of the building. Without further event Damien and McKinney climb into the car and drive off.]
[Inside Gus Arnold’s office.]
Arnold: I know you’ve had a tough couple weeks, so I’m not bothered about tonight. I am, however, curious. You said something about standing behind the other Untouchables?
Long: Yeah. Jeff Andrews is… well, you’ve met him, you know what he’s like. Everything takes a back seat to him when he starts Jeffing. And I’ve never seen anyone beloved like Heidi was back in the CAL days. Plus, before DEFIANCE she was the absolute nicest person, and I had done her some wrongs early on, I owed her once.
Arnold: I am a promoter, I understand these things.
Long: Also to be fair, riding on their coattails to tag title runs was easy and profitable. But really, the only way I could’ve gotten out from under their shadows was to turn on them. Hell, I DID get out of their shadows that way once, I won the WWA World Title while feuding with Jeff.
Arnold: But you made peace with them.
Long: Wrestling’s a weird business. Some of the most heinous things are forgiven, purely out of convenience.
Arnold: Yes. I’ve been doing this for a long time, you know - the territorial scene may be making something of a comeback, but I miss the days before national companies became a thing. Anyway. You remember what you said to me right after you won the Openweight, right?
Long: I want to do something that no other Untouchable ever did. Double champion.
[Pause.]
Long: Double singles champion, I mean. Kai Scott held the IWA Tag and IWA Hardcore at the same time.
Arnold: And I said don’t look too far ahead. I’m not opposed to it, but you need to establish yourself as a great Openweight champion. A good champion defends the belt, eventually loses it, and moves up. You need to be better than good.
Long: Yeah, and this was not the start I’d hoped for.
Arnold: You’ve got room for improvement, but it’s a lot easier to win by countout than pinfall - that’s why Carner isn’t the champion now. Anyway, I’ve got something you might be interested in. Non-title, but how would you be interested in a champion versus champion match?
[We fade here.]