{New Product Release - United Center, Chicago IL - “The Hitmaker 2000”}
[On-Camera]
Standing in front of a UGWC logo, Mac Bane smiles at the audience in attendance and at the folks watching from home.
“Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to a one-of-a-kind opportunity! Brought you today by myself and The Unified Global Championship Coalition, let me introduce you to the Hitmaker 2000!”
Laughter can be heard away from the demonstration, causing Mac to smile even more. The Hitmaker 2000 appears to be like one of the super fun standing punching bags you might have had as a kid. Instead of a clown on the front though, is a picture of Johnny Hitmaker. A caricature of Johnny that is, actually looks like a south park cartoon of Johnny in full rage.
“The company and I have collaborated to bring this special item for you, the fans. The perfect blend of technology and amusement for the entire family.”
Mac points to the speakers mounted to the top of the punching bag.
“Now, everyone knows that Johnny’s a fun guy to be around right? Now you can have your very own version at home. Watch this kids.”
Mac, playfully strikes the punching bag causing it to rock backward, when it comes back forward the voice of Johnny Hitmaker can be heard. “Let me make something perfectly clear!” It doesn’t stop there though, “Loser! You make me sick!” The recording starts to get louder.
“The great thing about this is unlike the real thing, it comes with a mute button so to speak.”
Mac pats it on the top where the speaker is and the voice abruptly cuts off.
“See?! I know what you are thinking, this marvel of technology must be expensive. Right?”
Mac arches an eyebrow and smiles.
“No, it’s cheap just like the suits that Johnny wears on television! Just three easy payments of twenty-four ninety-nine!”
More laughter can be heard from off-camera as Mac tries to keep a straight face but ultimately fails.
“Act now folks, this will be a hot seller!”
Fade
{Unnamed location - “The Gatekeeper”}
[Off-Camera]
This place always smelled of blood, vomit, and piss. The pay was good though so I chose not to bitch about it. I made my way to the bar, the bartender slid me a glass of Johnny Walker Black and it stopped neatly in front of me. “Damn, son,” I said to him as he smiled. “You’re welcome sir,” he replied with satisfaction obvious in his voice. I peeled off a couple of bills from the last time’s bonus and stuffed them in the tip jar. The cash office incident had been interesting, what started as that little bastard trying to stiff me turned into a ten thousand dollar payday. The bartender nodded towards the office, I looked over and the smallish man was there again.
Grabbing my drink, I walked over to the man. He showed me the poster that they had sent out to promote the fight. “The Gentleman Wolf” versus “The Gatekeeper”. I sighed in disgust. “He calls himself what?” I asked in a tone that obviously gave away my incredulous reaction. Yan as he preferred to be called smiled at me, “Yes, he wants to be billed as “The Gatekeeper”. His smile was genuine as was his own amusement at the situation. “One Gatekeeper after another eh?” I said after shaking my head in dismay. “So, it would seem. You did handle the other one without much effort from what I am told. I don’t suspect this one will cause you to break a sweat.”
I knew that was probably true, they seemed to have trouble finding legitimate fighters for these “matches”. He interrupts my train of thought with a question, “Was the bonus last time sufficient?” The smile on his face, was quickly turning into a face I’d like to cave in. “It was more than adequate, thank you again.” I gave him a polite bow as a symbol of respect and appreciation. He returns it in kind. “Depending on how this fight goes, it could be doubled or more should you get creative, shall we say.” I knew what he meant, the crowd wanted blood and lots of it. They always wanted death or broken bones or both. How they disposed of the bodies didn’t matter to me. What mattered was me being able to destroy someone without reservation and without a safety net. That feeling alone was a freeing feeling that brought me joy. The more I thought about it the more perverse it felt. The more troubling thought though was that I didn’t care. I needed this. I needed to do things that my chosen profession wouldn’t allow me to do. At least not in a sanctioned match.
sometime later in the night
The fight had begun with a polite fist bump but it deteriorated from there. My own design to be fair. I let this child among men believe that this was going to be a fair fight. Like so many rookies to these fights, he came at me with arrogance and enthusiasm. I quickly dispatched his hopes and dreams with a palm strike to his sternum. I watched his confidence drain from his face as his sternum cracked under the pressure of my strike. That satisfying crunch took me to a place I thought I’d forgotten. My next strike was a simple right cross. I felt the impact break his jaw and watched in satisfaction as a pair of teeth flew from his mouth along with the mouth guard he wore. Then the younger man collapsed at my feet. I spread my arms wide with my hands in a thumbs-up gesture. The crowd booed, chanting “No!” emphatically. I then turned them downward in a thumbs-down gesture and they blew the roof off. So I did what I do best, I drug this poor bastard to his feet. I looked at him and saw the blood escaping his mask and laughed at him. I tucked him in a reverse chin lock. I hadn’t used a dragon sleeper in years but I allowed muscle memory to take over.
Instead of trying to choke him out, I torqued up on the move and felt with sadistic glee as I felt the vertebrae snap and the gatekeeper took his last breath as I released it and allowed him to slump to the floor. The medical team entered the ring as the crowd reached a frenzy, some of them wore a euphoric look that almost matched my own. That made me laugh as I raised my arms in the air. What I should have felt was guilt for possibly killing someone, but what I felt was amazing. A feeling I hadn’t experienced in more than a decade.
Fade
{"Fact or fiction" - Recorded in Chicago at the United Center
}
I stand in front of the UGWC logo once again to address my opponent. Dressed in all black from head to toe. Black cowboy hat, double-breasted suit, and boots. Tony is a man I’ve known for a long time. He’s also a man I have a ton of respect for but first I feel it necessary to address the so-called gatekeeper of the Coalition.
“Deimos considers himself to be the gatekeeper of this company. The funny thing about gates and doors, locked or not I have this tendency to kick them open rather than using the proffered key.”
I give the audience at home a quick smile and a wink.
“I gave him the respect I felt like he deserved, too bad he didn’t afford me the same. Not only that but…really, you should have dug a little deeper. Not only in your research but in your heart. Your research seemed to have failed you. You see, I did hold the Baltimore City Title for what was then a record for the number of defenses, not the length of time. Your heart just doesn’t seem like it’s in this anymore. You and I have about the same amount of time in the industry and yet I’m far more hungry than you are.”
I shake my head in disgust and allow a long slow sigh to escape my lips. Setting my jaw and hardening my stare at the camera.
“My heart is in the fight week in and week out. What happened to you old man? I guess that’s really a moot point at this time isn’t it?”
I tilt my head to the left until the satisfying pop can be heard. I allow a small smile to play across my lips as it gently tugged at the corners.
“What isn’t a moot point is that belt that Tony Savage holds. The Chaos Title means a lot of things to many different people, depending on who you ask. You look at Lucy, she was ecstatic when she captured the title that had escaped her for so long.”
I tip my hat to her in respect and admiration. Then I go back to something I heard Tony say not so long ago.
“ Ma’am.”
I smile for a moment and then continue.
“Now then take someone like Tony Savage, the guy has a list of accolades ten miles long. He and I go back a number of years, he may not remember but I always remember an opponent who was worthy of respect. Here’s a man who can be the top guy wherever he goes and rightly so. He is the complete package in this business, regardless of what some others may think.”
Again the smile returns for a moment and then it’s gone again.
“The first time I met Tony was in Boardwalk Wrestling, the Atlantic City days…I always remember them fondly. Good times, for the most part. Tony was always a guy with integrity, and I’m glad to see that hasn’t changed.”
The look I now give the audience is one of sympathy, as I allow my features to soften a bit.
“Tony, I know you’re frustrated, it’s got to be frustrating for a man who should be in contention for World Championship gold.”
I frown a bit now, as I was disappointed and confused by his words and attitude.
“Thing is, you’re the Chaos champion.”
The frown remains as I look down at the ground and I shake my head in disgust.
“You feel like you’re wasting your time and energy on a title that no one cares about?”
I slowly raise my head up and look at the audience.
“I look at the legends of UGCW that have held that title, and I think, did they think that title was worthless? Did they believe they were wasting their time and energy?”
I shake my head again.
“Maybe I misunderstood your meaning, I mean misunderstandings happen right? The real point here is that a lot of these guys and gals on the roster would kill to hold that title.”
I don’t allow the smile to return, my gaze remains hard. I allow my own intensity to come through.
“I get it, you’re worth so much more than that, right?”
I pause only for a moment.
“Right.”
I allow the smile to return and spreading my arms wide, I allow the old matter-of-fact tone to sneak in.
“So, what I’ll do is relieve you of that responsibility. I wouldn’t want you to feel the weight of any burden or anything like that.”
