Post by Jonny Cedrone on Nov 11, 2023 22:59:38 GMT -5
This scene opens up inside a casino. Jonny’s voice is heard as the narrator as we make our way around the casino. Watching the slots, the blackjack tables, the poker tables and the roulette wheels.
“People from all around the world come here to gamble their life savings in an attempt to multiply it. Some are gonna win. Some are gonna lose. Some dreams are made. Some dreams are dashed. One thing’s for sure though; they all got the itch to make that gamble.”
“Here, they take their destiny into their own hands. With their decisions, they can either make their dreams come true or absolutely annihilate them and themselves. Unfortunately for them though, they don’t make their own luck. Luck isn’t a double-headed coin. You take that chance. You take that gamble. Will you succeed or will you fail?”
The scene comes up on Jonny Cedrone who’s sitting at a blackjack table. He’s dressed in a gray Armani suit with a maroon button-up shirt underneath the jacket. He’s leaned back in his chair playing with chips in one hand and spinning the half-full glass of scotch on the table top with the other. A crowd of people have gathered around him to watch him in a high-stake game. $1 million is on the line with this one decision. He and the house has 18 on the table. One wrong decision he’s $1 million poorer. One right decision and he’s $1 million richer.
“Hit me.”
The crowd gasps at his decision.
After a few brief anxious-riddled moments – which seems like an eternity – the dealer turns over Jonny’s final card and it’s a three!!! The crowd erupts in cheers!! Jonny keeps his cool but a grin – though brief – lights up his face.
The dealer has to turn her card.
Another few anxious-riddled, eternity-feeling moments go by before the dealer slowly turns the card over to reveal….a six! Jonny wins and the crowd pops loudly! The dealer grins as she slides all of Jonny’s chips towards him and applauds. Jonny takes a few black chips and slides them back towards the dealer. They exchange smiles.
“It’s been a pleasure! Thank you so much!”
The scene fades to black then fades back in as Jonny cashes out his winnings – or at least what he’s able to take home after the IRS gets done with him. He has a couple of white chips that he’s playing with in his hands as he walks through the casino, soaking in the atmosphere, meeting and greeting with some other patrons of the casino. He walks upstairs and heads out the huge glass doors and onto the balcony that’s overlooking the ocean. He leans on the edge of the balcony and loses himself in the amazement of the vast openness of the sea and all of the nightlife happening around him and below him on the boardwalk. He turns and faces the camera with a bit of a smirk across his face.
“Last week the world bore witness to a wrestling clinic when “Big Tyme” Jimmy Jackson and I went toe-to-toe and nose-to-nose. It was a fantastic catch-as-catch-can wrestling match Big Man! Only one of us could advance into the tournament, and if I’m bein’ honest here, I’d much rather it’d be me. Just sayin’. But you gave me one helluva fight and you and I tore the house down!”
“And I thank you for such a great match! It definitely coulda gone either way, so don’t let that loss get you down in any way Big Man. The future is bright for ya! Unfortunately for you though I had a vendetta going into that match from the beginning.”
“As soon as I saw the brackets for the tournament I knew – I just knew that I had to advance into the second round come Hell or high water.”
“As soon as I saw that the winner of our match last week got to cross paths with Downfall this week…it was MY match.”
“It was in the fates. It was written in the stars. It was my destiny to get my hands on Downfall.”
“Because Downfall and I have a bit of a history together. Yeah, it may be a short history, but it’s a violent history. One filled with blood, broken bones, wounded spirits and anger.”
“it’s personal.”
“Downfall you’re sitting pretty on top of the world right now…or at least you should be. How’s your ego been since Uprising, huh?”
“You fought valiantly. You fought with every fiber of your being. You reached as far as your arms could possibly reach but you just couldn’t get the job done. You came up just a little…short. Almost as if something was holding you back; almost as if someone had you by the legs and wouldn’t let you get to the top. I told you that night Downfall that I wasn’t going to let you win. I would sacrifice myself just to keep you from winning that night and that’s exactly what happened! I owed you that and so much more!”
“Time and time again we’ve battled in that ring. Each time I thought I had you! Each time you pulled a miracle outta your ass and got the win.”
“It didn’t happen at Uprising and it’s not going to happen Monday night.”
“Ya see, you can crack jokes about my little “walk on the wild side.” You can tell me that my little journey through the dark was nothing more than an emo stage that every teenager goes through. You can belittle me for flirting with disaster but during that time, I actually learned a lot about myself.”
“I have anger issues.”
“That’s right. Anger issues.”
“Now, I’m sure to you, my anger issues are nothing compared to yours. I mean you’re a walking, talking anger issue with your daddy issues and abandonment issues. I want to assure you Downfall, I will never abandon you. In fact, for as long as you’re around in Action Wrestling, I too will be right there for ya. Whenever you want an ass-kicking, turn around and I’ll be there. Whenever you want to feel like you have purpose, look no further! As long as we’re in the same company, you’ll always have a purpose my friend – the subject of my annoyance.”
“We’re destined to do this forever my friend. To steal a phrase: “you…you complete me!”
“Now we all know that the Hardcore Championship means a great deal to you. It’s your prized possession. You’d murder for it if you had to. But there’s one thing that’s even more important to you and that’s yourself. In your daddy and abandonment issues you’ve coped with them by building yourself up to be God’s gift to wrestling. Now, while you’re good and your tenacity is to be commended, you’re not without flaws. Everybody knows that the more arrogant you get, it tends to become your…downfall. So go ahead. Get up on your soapbox. Pound your chest. Boast about your abilities. Brag about how good you are. Tell the world and I that you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to Action Wrestling. Stroke your own ego. Grow your head so big that you won’t even be able to fit in the huge garage doors in the parking garage of the arena Monday night.”
“Go ahead and do all that Downfall. Because while you’re so busy making yourself out to be the Wrestling Messiah, I’ll be waiting for that one opportunity. And that’s all it’s going to take. Just one opportunity, and I’ll be moving on in the tournament while you sit at home licking your bruised ego.”
“Just like I’ve been in the ring with you enough times to know that your arrogance is your weakness, you too know that my emotions are mine.”
“There’s no sense in hiding it. There’s no sense in denying it. The proof’s in the pudding.”
“But while I was on that journey through the darkness, I learned a lot about myself.”
“I learned that while it’s normal to have emotions like anger and it’s okay to be upset…my issue has always been my lack of ability in controlling those emotions and using them to my advantage. I’ve never learned how to harness those emotions and use them to achieve what I want to achieve – what I NEED to achieve.”
“So don’t hear these words and think that I’m not going to use against you the anger that you’ve caused me in the past. You couldn’t be more wrong if you think that.”
“You’ve always said that you want me to bring my anger to the fight and give you everything that you would throw at me. You want me to bring it. Well Monday night Downfall…I’m bringing it all.”
“I’m going to rain down on you with great vengeance and furious anger Downfall!”
“That night a long time ago just down the road from where I’m standing right now, I beat the living shit outta that poor innocent “kid” Stevie Dreams. A young guy. Just wanting to make it in the business. He stepped into the ring with me, one of his heroes at the time. A night that was supposed to be his biggest dream come true, turned out to be his worst nightmare.”
“Frustration will lead a lot of good people down the worst road imaginable Downfall.”
“Frustrated with my status in that company, I took out every bit of my frustration on that kid. Chair shot after chair shot, I beat the hell outta him Downfall. And that night? I felt no remorse.”
“Not one iota.”
“So, if you think I can do that to that kid, what makes you think that I won’t do it to you?”
“Huh?”
“There’s a lot at stake Monday night.”
“Advancing in the Turmoil tournament. Eventually being named the AW Wrestler of the Year.”
“But even more importantly than all that? Getting the opportunity to unleash my anger and retribution on you Downfall. And it’s going to feel oh so good!”
“Now you may think that all I’m going to do is use brute force and just brawl with you. I mean I definitely will! Don’t get me wrong! But that’s not the only way I’m going to beat you Monday night.”
“No, no.”
“My fighting abilities are strong but as I proved last week, my wrestling abilities are just as strong.”
“I’ve always prided myself in being the premier wrestler in any company I’ve ever signed with. I just haven’t had too many opportunities to showcase that since joining AW.”
“In AW, we’re all about the punches and the kicks and the violence. That’s all fine and good but when you can outsmart and outwrestle your opponent by twisting them up like a pretzel…now that’s chef’s kiss right there!”
Jonny takes one chip and places it one shoulder and takes the other and places it on his other shoulder.
“Even though I’ve been in the company for a couple of years now, I still feel that I have a lot to prove. Why? I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’m not in the World Championship picture like I thought I would be. Maybe it’s because my win/loss record doesn’t shine as good as I’d like it to. But whatever the reason is, the need to prove myself is still there. And it’s strong.”
“I’m hungry.”
“I’m angry.”
“And I’m accused of having a chip on my shoulder, and maybe I do! I dare you…I just DARE you Downfall to knock that chip off!”
“You can do that, right?!”
Jonny takes the chips back off of his shoulder and shakes his head confidently.
“I don’t think you can.”
“Even more than that?”
“I know you won’t.”
“This isn’t the same Jonny Cedrone you faced the last time Downfall.”
“And when we meet this time, you’ll be sorry we ever crossed paths.”
The scene fades to black.
“People from all around the world come here to gamble their life savings in an attempt to multiply it. Some are gonna win. Some are gonna lose. Some dreams are made. Some dreams are dashed. One thing’s for sure though; they all got the itch to make that gamble.”
“Here, they take their destiny into their own hands. With their decisions, they can either make their dreams come true or absolutely annihilate them and themselves. Unfortunately for them though, they don’t make their own luck. Luck isn’t a double-headed coin. You take that chance. You take that gamble. Will you succeed or will you fail?”
The scene comes up on Jonny Cedrone who’s sitting at a blackjack table. He’s dressed in a gray Armani suit with a maroon button-up shirt underneath the jacket. He’s leaned back in his chair playing with chips in one hand and spinning the half-full glass of scotch on the table top with the other. A crowd of people have gathered around him to watch him in a high-stake game. $1 million is on the line with this one decision. He and the house has 18 on the table. One wrong decision he’s $1 million poorer. One right decision and he’s $1 million richer.
“Hit me.”
The crowd gasps at his decision.
After a few brief anxious-riddled moments – which seems like an eternity – the dealer turns over Jonny’s final card and it’s a three!!! The crowd erupts in cheers!! Jonny keeps his cool but a grin – though brief – lights up his face.
The dealer has to turn her card.
Another few anxious-riddled, eternity-feeling moments go by before the dealer slowly turns the card over to reveal….a six! Jonny wins and the crowd pops loudly! The dealer grins as she slides all of Jonny’s chips towards him and applauds. Jonny takes a few black chips and slides them back towards the dealer. They exchange smiles.
“It’s been a pleasure! Thank you so much!”
The scene fades to black then fades back in as Jonny cashes out his winnings – or at least what he’s able to take home after the IRS gets done with him. He has a couple of white chips that he’s playing with in his hands as he walks through the casino, soaking in the atmosphere, meeting and greeting with some other patrons of the casino. He walks upstairs and heads out the huge glass doors and onto the balcony that’s overlooking the ocean. He leans on the edge of the balcony and loses himself in the amazement of the vast openness of the sea and all of the nightlife happening around him and below him on the boardwalk. He turns and faces the camera with a bit of a smirk across his face.
“Last week the world bore witness to a wrestling clinic when “Big Tyme” Jimmy Jackson and I went toe-to-toe and nose-to-nose. It was a fantastic catch-as-catch-can wrestling match Big Man! Only one of us could advance into the tournament, and if I’m bein’ honest here, I’d much rather it’d be me. Just sayin’. But you gave me one helluva fight and you and I tore the house down!”
“And I thank you for such a great match! It definitely coulda gone either way, so don’t let that loss get you down in any way Big Man. The future is bright for ya! Unfortunately for you though I had a vendetta going into that match from the beginning.”
“As soon as I saw the brackets for the tournament I knew – I just knew that I had to advance into the second round come Hell or high water.”
“As soon as I saw that the winner of our match last week got to cross paths with Downfall this week…it was MY match.”
“It was in the fates. It was written in the stars. It was my destiny to get my hands on Downfall.”
“Because Downfall and I have a bit of a history together. Yeah, it may be a short history, but it’s a violent history. One filled with blood, broken bones, wounded spirits and anger.”
“it’s personal.”
“Downfall you’re sitting pretty on top of the world right now…or at least you should be. How’s your ego been since Uprising, huh?”
“You fought valiantly. You fought with every fiber of your being. You reached as far as your arms could possibly reach but you just couldn’t get the job done. You came up just a little…short. Almost as if something was holding you back; almost as if someone had you by the legs and wouldn’t let you get to the top. I told you that night Downfall that I wasn’t going to let you win. I would sacrifice myself just to keep you from winning that night and that’s exactly what happened! I owed you that and so much more!”
“Time and time again we’ve battled in that ring. Each time I thought I had you! Each time you pulled a miracle outta your ass and got the win.”
“It didn’t happen at Uprising and it’s not going to happen Monday night.”
“Ya see, you can crack jokes about my little “walk on the wild side.” You can tell me that my little journey through the dark was nothing more than an emo stage that every teenager goes through. You can belittle me for flirting with disaster but during that time, I actually learned a lot about myself.”
“I have anger issues.”
“That’s right. Anger issues.”
“Now, I’m sure to you, my anger issues are nothing compared to yours. I mean you’re a walking, talking anger issue with your daddy issues and abandonment issues. I want to assure you Downfall, I will never abandon you. In fact, for as long as you’re around in Action Wrestling, I too will be right there for ya. Whenever you want an ass-kicking, turn around and I’ll be there. Whenever you want to feel like you have purpose, look no further! As long as we’re in the same company, you’ll always have a purpose my friend – the subject of my annoyance.”
“We’re destined to do this forever my friend. To steal a phrase: “you…you complete me!”
“Now we all know that the Hardcore Championship means a great deal to you. It’s your prized possession. You’d murder for it if you had to. But there’s one thing that’s even more important to you and that’s yourself. In your daddy and abandonment issues you’ve coped with them by building yourself up to be God’s gift to wrestling. Now, while you’re good and your tenacity is to be commended, you’re not without flaws. Everybody knows that the more arrogant you get, it tends to become your…downfall. So go ahead. Get up on your soapbox. Pound your chest. Boast about your abilities. Brag about how good you are. Tell the world and I that you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to Action Wrestling. Stroke your own ego. Grow your head so big that you won’t even be able to fit in the huge garage doors in the parking garage of the arena Monday night.”
“Go ahead and do all that Downfall. Because while you’re so busy making yourself out to be the Wrestling Messiah, I’ll be waiting for that one opportunity. And that’s all it’s going to take. Just one opportunity, and I’ll be moving on in the tournament while you sit at home licking your bruised ego.”
“Just like I’ve been in the ring with you enough times to know that your arrogance is your weakness, you too know that my emotions are mine.”
“There’s no sense in hiding it. There’s no sense in denying it. The proof’s in the pudding.”
“But while I was on that journey through the darkness, I learned a lot about myself.”
“I learned that while it’s normal to have emotions like anger and it’s okay to be upset…my issue has always been my lack of ability in controlling those emotions and using them to my advantage. I’ve never learned how to harness those emotions and use them to achieve what I want to achieve – what I NEED to achieve.”
“So don’t hear these words and think that I’m not going to use against you the anger that you’ve caused me in the past. You couldn’t be more wrong if you think that.”
“You’ve always said that you want me to bring my anger to the fight and give you everything that you would throw at me. You want me to bring it. Well Monday night Downfall…I’m bringing it all.”
“I’m going to rain down on you with great vengeance and furious anger Downfall!”
“That night a long time ago just down the road from where I’m standing right now, I beat the living shit outta that poor innocent “kid” Stevie Dreams. A young guy. Just wanting to make it in the business. He stepped into the ring with me, one of his heroes at the time. A night that was supposed to be his biggest dream come true, turned out to be his worst nightmare.”
“Frustration will lead a lot of good people down the worst road imaginable Downfall.”
“Frustrated with my status in that company, I took out every bit of my frustration on that kid. Chair shot after chair shot, I beat the hell outta him Downfall. And that night? I felt no remorse.”
“Not one iota.”
“So, if you think I can do that to that kid, what makes you think that I won’t do it to you?”
“Huh?”
“There’s a lot at stake Monday night.”
“Advancing in the Turmoil tournament. Eventually being named the AW Wrestler of the Year.”
“But even more importantly than all that? Getting the opportunity to unleash my anger and retribution on you Downfall. And it’s going to feel oh so good!”
“Now you may think that all I’m going to do is use brute force and just brawl with you. I mean I definitely will! Don’t get me wrong! But that’s not the only way I’m going to beat you Monday night.”
“No, no.”
“My fighting abilities are strong but as I proved last week, my wrestling abilities are just as strong.”
“I’ve always prided myself in being the premier wrestler in any company I’ve ever signed with. I just haven’t had too many opportunities to showcase that since joining AW.”
“In AW, we’re all about the punches and the kicks and the violence. That’s all fine and good but when you can outsmart and outwrestle your opponent by twisting them up like a pretzel…now that’s chef’s kiss right there!”
Jonny takes one chip and places it one shoulder and takes the other and places it on his other shoulder.
“Even though I’ve been in the company for a couple of years now, I still feel that I have a lot to prove. Why? I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’m not in the World Championship picture like I thought I would be. Maybe it’s because my win/loss record doesn’t shine as good as I’d like it to. But whatever the reason is, the need to prove myself is still there. And it’s strong.”
“I’m hungry.”
“I’m angry.”
“And I’m accused of having a chip on my shoulder, and maybe I do! I dare you…I just DARE you Downfall to knock that chip off!”
“You can do that, right?!”
Jonny takes the chips back off of his shoulder and shakes his head confidently.
“I don’t think you can.”
“Even more than that?”
“I know you won’t.”
“This isn’t the same Jonny Cedrone you faced the last time Downfall.”
“And when we meet this time, you’ll be sorry we ever crossed paths.”
The scene fades to black.