Post by Stuart Slane on Dec 22, 2020 13:49:54 GMT -5
Fan footage of the ending to the 2013 One match for WCF’s United States Championship plays. Steve Orbit and Stuart Slane, both exhausted, climb a turnbuckle. They exchange blows. Slane gets the upper hand. Draping Orbit across his shoulders, the challenger leaps, driving his opponent to the mat with an avalanche Scoutmaster Slam. Cover! One! Two! Three!
The packed Wells Fargo Center counts along instinctively, but jeer when the bell rings and Slane is awarded the belt. ‘Follow Me, Boys!’ blares and Stuart, his Scoutmaster uniform drenched in sweat, celebrates; mounting each ringpost to taunt the crowd by holding the US Title aloft.
“Slane you suck!”
“Mack was gassed from pulling double duty!”
“Fucking child abuser as champion! Nice booking, Lerch!”
Transition. Cell phone advancements provide a clearer image of Slane facing Dustin Beaver at Sunday Night Slam for Beaver’s Television Title. Stuart whips Beaver to the ropes. He caroms off and on the comeback Stu hooks him, herks him up, and pivots, stunning Beaver and the WCF Galaxy with the rechristened Slane Slam. Cover! One! Two! Three!
Again the fans count along, though their reaction when “Conquistador” cues up and Stu is handed the title is more positive. Some cheer because one of #BeachKrew has been humbled. Others are happy that the ex-Scoutmaster has found success again.
“Almost three years to the day!”
“Yeah! GetRekt BeachKrew!”
The mixed reaction becomes outrage when Beaver dry-gulches a blissfully oblivious Slane; beating him down and making off with the belt, though there are dissenting opinions.
“Fuccboi can fuck right off! That belt belongs to Beavs!”
The packed Wells Fargo Center counts along instinctively, but jeer when the bell rings and Slane is awarded the belt. ‘Follow Me, Boys!’ blares and Stuart, his Scoutmaster uniform drenched in sweat, celebrates; mounting each ringpost to taunt the crowd by holding the US Title aloft.
“Slane you suck!”
“Mack was gassed from pulling double duty!”
“Fucking child abuser as champion! Nice booking, Lerch!”
Transition. Cell phone advancements provide a clearer image of Slane facing Dustin Beaver at Sunday Night Slam for Beaver’s Television Title. Stuart whips Beaver to the ropes. He caroms off and on the comeback Stu hooks him, herks him up, and pivots, stunning Beaver and the WCF Galaxy with the rechristened Slane Slam. Cover! One! Two! Three!
Again the fans count along, though their reaction when “Conquistador” cues up and Stu is handed the title is more positive. Some cheer because one of #BeachKrew has been humbled. Others are happy that the ex-Scoutmaster has found success again.
“Almost three years to the day!”
“Yeah! GetRekt BeachKrew!”
The mixed reaction becomes outrage when Beaver dry-gulches a blissfully oblivious Slane; beating him down and making off with the belt, though there are dissenting opinions.
“Fuccboi can fuck right off! That belt belongs to Beavs!”
“It didn’t.”
Stuart notes as the film fades. He stands revealed in his default setting: a wrestling ring. Having one arm in a sling while holding his Raging Dead Award prevents him from assuming parade rest. A black tee bearing the neon green WCF logo is the final atypical accessory to Slane’s ensemble.
“I would defeat Mister Beaver at Fifteen and take back the title I earned; one again I will fight for, at an event where I first proved myself.”
He rests the trophy’s base against his thigh.
“Those clips are the extent of my reminiscence of WCF. Others competing at One have a far greater institutional memory of the company, and are better served to memorialize this unique occasion. What I will elaborate on is what One means for myself.”
“Opportunity.”
“Just as my first One and first TV Title win legitimized me in two eras of WCF, this Final One and last Television Championship will do the same in Action. I am struggling, and no prize for Sportsmanship-”
Stu raises the award.
“- can serve as a substitute for in-ring success. I need to win; not to honor the past but to secure my future. A championship, even one due for decommission, improves my standing in Action Wrestling; especially if I beat one of the company’s originals and the sport’s greats.”
He smiles ruefully..
“I predict neither considers themselves lucky to be in this match. Spencer Adams’s antipathy towards the Dub is well documented, and Odin Balfore no doubt feels slighted that he is not fighting for greater stakes. Odin, Spencer: listen to Professional Wrestling’s Last Honest Man; you are where you deserve to be.”
Adams: rage against the machine all you want. The fact remains in WCF you were nothing special. Subpar in the ring and on mic. Your mother was more over than you. Now you’ve evolved over time, watching and learning from your betters: You’re a more complete wrestler now, Spencer, even if those seams are visible enough to reveal what a shoddy construct of remnants you are. You are a perfect metaphor for that failed promotion you helped create, United Championship Infinite; one that despite your best efforts could never measure up to WCF. Just like you will never measure up to myself, as unique a talent you will ever find in this industry. And that just gnaws at you, doesn’t it? At the Final One you will find no relief, as I plan on punishing you for daring to compare me to your old DRG honcho Thomas Bates and, even more galling, Chet Dakota, a vapid internet meme, and for denigrating my achievements in WCF when you all ‘rode the Wav3’, set sail for what you felt would be safer harbors, and within two years sank to the bottom of the ocean.”
Slane adjusts the strap on his sling with a roll of his left shoulder.
“Odin, you are one of the few I will acknowledge as a legend in this business: a man who has blazed his own trail. But those fires? They have dimmed dramatically. Kyle Kemp boots you from the Following and not only does he escape retribution, but thrives without you. Mathias Mintzel proves you’re undeserving of the Hardcore Title. Adams beats you in the first round of the Turmoil Tournament. These failures should teach you a little humility, but no. You return from ‘suspension’ blaming ‘politics’ and bullying the impotent Jaice Wilds. Oh, and call out WALTER two months too late. Easy to yank the Mongrel’s chain after his ears were pinned back by better wrestlers, as well as conveniently slipping his leash. If you were confident in your abilities your target would be the man you claimed you wanted before Kemp administered Justice. Perhaps you realize facing Corey Black is too great a challenge for you? That would show self-awareness, so probably not. It’s more likely you were hoping for that third spot in the Man Made Gods. Pity Graham Baker is a fast healer; leaving you to go it alone, revealing yourself as increasingly mortal.”
“My cause hasn’t changed. I want the scalps of my enemies who are for the moment beyond my reach. A win at One brings me closer to them. That’s why this match matters: not for nostalgia, but ascension.”
He gives a pointed look to his injured arm.
“It is a long way up, after all.”