Post by Jonny Cedrone on Nov 19, 2023 14:42:23 GMT -5
~~Recorded after the match against Downfall~~
The scene opens up in the backstage area where we see Jonny Cedrone slowly and gingerly make his way through the Gorilla position. Gloria doing her best to prop her man up as they make their way past everyone. Surprisingly enough and yet unsurprisingly, nobody that they passed extended their hand in assistance nor did they give him a pat on the back for a job well done. No sentiment of gratitude nor an expression of empathy. Everyone just passed him by as if he was…just Joe or something. They stumble their way towards the trainer’s room.
[/i]“We’re almost there honey. Just a few more steps.”
Jonny stops moving and slumps down onto the floor, taking Gloria by surprise. In a panic she starts to yell for trainers or EMTs…anyone that could help, but Jonny pats her arm reassuringly.
“Could you get me a bottle of water please baby. I’ll be alright.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah baby.”
Gloria goes after a bottle of water, leaving Jonny there on the floor. He looks up and sees the camera and with every might that he has left in his body, he props himself up and back against the wall in a seated position. He tries to muster enough strength to speak…
“Downfall. You took everything I had. Everything. There were a few times…where I thought I finally got you.”
“I have to hand it to ya. Your will IS strong! I respect that much of ya.”
“The thing of it is that I took everything you had to throw at me as well. You didn’t kill me.”
“You know what that means, right?”
“I still want more.”
“At some point we will meet again. It may not be next week. It may not be the week after that. But we will meet again. And I will beat you, you son of a bitch!”
“No matter what it takes, I will beat you! Whether I have to kill you or if I have to kill myself in the process…I WILL beat you and I WILL make you respect me!”
Jonny winces in pain and clutches at his ribs.
“And allllll of you fans out there.” Jonny shakes his head in disbelief. “I don’t know how you do it.”
“Somehow and for some reason or another, you still find it in your hearts to cheer me on.”
“Win, lose or draw, you’re right there.”
“There aren’t enough words in the English dictionary that could come close to helping me describe just how grateful I am for your love and support.”
“With every punch, kick and every devastating move out there, you were all right there cheering me on. You believed in me.”
“And I failed you.”
“I’m truly sorry for letting all of ya down.”
“With your love and support though, I’m going to make it through this little setback. And I’m going to come back next week at or near 100% and we’re going to take Action Wrestling by storm!”
Gloria returns with the bottle of water and Jonny takes a huge drink from it, then looks back into the camera.
“Your love will not go unwarranted. Together, we will all do exactly what I’ve set out to do from the start.”
“Unfortunately, with every setback we keep moving further and further into the abyss of the roster.”
“We will do what we have to do in order to get to where we want to be – where we belong!”
“So stick it out with me. I need you!”
Jonny takes another drink from the water bottle as the scene fades to black. When the scene fades back in, Jonny Cedrone and Gloria are seen walking into The Firehouse Restaurant in Sacramento. Both are dressed in their best apparel as Jonny opens the door for Gloria. The scene cuts to the inside as we see the waiter pull out the chair for Gloria and Jonny takes his seat. For drinks, Gloria orders the Lychee Martini and Jonny orders the Kentucky Apricot. After the waiter leaves, Jonny and Gloria holds a conversation.
“I can’t believe this is our first time in Sacramento.”
“I know! Between living in LA for a while and having been in the wrestling business, it’s surprising.”
“How’re ya feeling about the Battle Royal Monday night?”
Jonny sports a bit of a disappointing look on his face.
“It is what it is. It’s kind of an interesting concept. What’s weird is that there are only seven people involved in the Battle Royale. It’s usually ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty…”
“Sixty?! How do you fit sixty beefy men into one ring?!”
“Ha. Ya don’t. It was only done a few times back in the ‘90s. WCW and their infinite wisdom thought it’d be wise to compete against the then-WWF and where the WWF had its Royal Rumble every January, WCW thought, “What the hell? We’ll have three rings with 20-men Battle Royals going on at the same time! It’d be great!”
“Sounds like a cluster.”
“That’s putting it nicely! It was confusing and just a mess. Kinda like how things were going behind the scenes there.”
“At least you don’t have to fight against fifty-nine other people.”
“True. And like I said, the concept of the final two being a tag team and being the number one contender to the Tag Team Championships, it’s an interesting one. It does kinda remind me of WCW a little bit but the potential is strong!”
“Who would you like to be there in the end with you?”
“It doesn’t really matter. I need to take whoever it is to the Championships and redeem myself for that failure of a showing with Gerard and letting him down…as long as it isn’t Balfore!”
The waiter shows up to take their order as the scene fades to black. The scene fades back in one more time as we see Jonny Cedrone walking into the Golden 1 Center. They have the ring set up but without the apron. The barricades are up and ready to protect the wrestlers from any unruly fans. Even a few rows of chairs are set up to enjoy the action. Jonny walks down the rampway towards the ring and leans against the ring apron, looking inside the ring, reflecting on all of the things he’s been through in this business – both good and bad.
“Thanksgiving is in a few days. It’s the time of year where families gather around and express what they’re grateful for and let their loved ones know just how much they mean to them.”
“This Thursday, I’m going to be thankful that on Monday Night I booked my ticket to the Tag Team Championships.”
“In what is being considered as being an interesting concept, Action Wrestling is putting on a seven-person battle royal. The last two standing will be the number one contenders to the Tag Team Championships.”
“With the stacked roster that’s involved in this battle royal, it could be virtually any two people standing at the end!”
“Niobe Martin. I’ve been in the ring with her before. She’s MORE than capable of being the other one standing at the end of this battle. She’s quick. She’s nimble. Don’t let her size fool ya either. There’s a lot of fight in such a small package!”
“Chase Jackson. One of the greatest stars that Action Wrestling has on its roster. One of the “AW Originals” that’s seen it all and has been through it all since Action Wrestling’s inception. Speed, skills, experience and explosive action, packed into a youthful package.”
“Hot Shot Wayne Austin. One of – if not THE toughest son of a bitch on the planet. Those fists of fury will make anyone’s head spin with how hard and how fast they come at you. He not only dishes out the punishment, he can take it just as well.”
“TJ Alexander. I don’t think I’ve been in the ring with him before but from everything I’ve seen from the sidelines, the man can fly just as well as he can wrestle. He comes at you from the ground and from above. He has the ability to adapt to any style of fighting. Ground attacks. Aerial attacks. He’s got them all and demonstrates every time he goes out to that ring that he’s the best at them all!”
“Jody Madrox. From the streets of Detroit, he has that survival instinct. Something that you need in this business. Everyone’s after your spot on the roster so you have to know how to defend yourself and what’s yours. He’s been in and outta the business for ten years and it sounds like he’s had the same kind of relationship with the prison system. Everything he’s learned on the streets and in prison, he applies to his craft in the ring. With that, he can’t go anywhere but up!”
“Then we have Odin Balfore. That overgrown oaf, the only things he has going for him are his size and his strength. But that’s about it. The elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top with this one. With that said though, that hasn’t stopped him from winning Championships in Action Wrestling, especially the Tag Team Championships. Although, it could be said that his tag team partners were the ones that carried him to Tag Team Gold. I guess he’d be expecting me to be doing the same for him.”
“He’s gonna be the first one I throw over the top rope.”
“Any one of those competitors would make for a formidable tag team partner to challenge for the Tag Team Championships.”
“And I look forward to standing side-by-side with them at the end of that Battle Royal Monday night AND after we win the Tag Team Championships!”
“Sure, I should be standing here talking to you about how I stood up against the man that’s impossible to beat and how I beat him. I should be standing here talking to you about how I’d be standing toe-to-toe against Teo Blaze and how I’d beat him too and whoever would be standing across the ring from me at Turmoil as I become the 2023 Wrestler of the Year!”
“I should be talking with you about all that.”
“But I’m not.”
“Downfall and I gave each other everything we had. We left everything out in that ring last week. He advanced and I didn’t.”
“No excuse.”
“But this works out just fine for me. The last time the Tag Team Championships were on the line, I let my partner down. I disappointed Gerard and lost our Tag Team Championships.”
“This time around though, the outcome is going to be different.”
“This time around when my partner and I stand eye-to-eye, nose-to-nose and toe-to-toe against The New Brotherhood, we’re going to take them to limits that they’ve never experienced before. We’re going to out-brawl them. We’re going to outsmart them. We’re going to out-wrestle them. And we’re going to walk out as the NEW Tag Team Champions of the World!”
Jonny shrugs his shoulders and has a bit of a disgusted look on his face.
“I guess even if it IS Balfore.”
“No matter who it is standing at the end of this battle royal with me, no matter what kind of Hell we put each other through in the battle royal, we’re going to go from sworn enemies to the best tag team ever assembled and go on to wear Championship Gold!”
“It’s up to the rest of you to bring your A-Game Monday night!”
The scene fades to black one last time.