Post by Ryan Blade on Sept 22, 2013 7:38:30 GMT
{We open up on an exterior shot of Ryan Blade's childhood home as the rain drizzles down from the clouds. Ryan Blade walks up to the front door with his hood over his head, shielding himself from the rain. He opens up the door and heads into an empty kitchen. The Man of Steel drops his hood off of his head and runs his hand through his hair, looking around the familiar surroundings of home.}
Ryan Blade: "Mom? You home?"
Mom: "Yeah, honey. I'll be there in a minute."
Ryan Blade: "I'm twenty years old, mom. I think it's time to cool with with the cute names."
Mom: "You'll never be too old for cute names, sweetie pie."
{Ryan rolls his eyes and smiles to himself.}
Ryan Blade: "Geez."
{The young wrestling star folds his hands and twiddles his thumbs for a moment before standing up and heading over to a glass cabinet. Inside we see photos of Blade and brother, Chase on Christmas morning, opening up their gifts. We also see the boys playing on a swingset, and another photo of the kids sitting, smiling with their mother. Blade opens the glass door and pulls out the framed picture, holding it with both hands and looking down. He runs his thumb over the picture and swallows deep, looking back at happier, easier times. Sure it wasn't easy growing up without a dad, but his mom always made sure both boys had everything they needed. They didn't have the best toys or the nicest clothes, but they always had love.
And maybe that's why Blade is the way he is now. He always had the love.... he always had the validation from his mother, while always competing with his brother in everything. He's a good kid, but he's always strived to be the center of attention even though he got a ton of it. That's life with a sibling though. Blade loved Chase too, even if it was tough to admit it.
Now here he is, back at home with the adoration and respect from millions of fans across the world, and all he cares about is the one women who gave him that from the start.}
Mom: "Ryan."
{Blade snaps out of memory lane.}
Ryan Blade: "Yeah, mom?"
Mom: "Something happened recently, and it was kind of a major change... and I just wanted to warn you so you don't get startled."
Ryan Blade: "What are you talking about? Something happened here? At the house?"
Mom: "Not exactly. I didn't want to tell you when over the phone, but the chemo has really been doing a number on me physically.... and one of the side effects can be that you lose your hair."
{Blade's mother steps into the room and we see her newly bald head in the light. Her eyes well up with tears as Blade walks over to her and gives her a hug.}
Mom: "Some came out in the shower the other day. I had to shave it off."
Ryan Blade: "It's okay, mom."
{Blade hugs his mom as she cries a bit into his shoulder. We see Blade start to fight back tears as well as he stares at the wall, not saying a word. What can you say in a moment like this? Sure it's just hair, but it's so much more than that. It's seeing the strongest woman in the entire world at her weakest moment. And even now she's still trying to be strong for her son.}
Mom: "I know it's silly, but it still hurts."
Ryan Blade: "I know.... I know."
___________________________________________________________________________________________
"Well this is it. The day that everyone's been waiting on for some time has finally come... the day I main event my first wrestling pay-per-view. I could go on and on and tell you all about how I knew that it was going to happen eventually, but honestly, who could have predicted this? Everyone who gets into wrestling dreams about one day being 'the guy'. They sit up at night and think about being the biggest star in the business.... about having it all.
Me? I just wanted to show the world, and a certain deadbeat that I mean someting. I wanted to show the world that you don't have to be a statistic. Funnily enough though, I ended up becoming a statistic of another kind.
Number one.
Somewhere along the line I stopped wanting to be better than the scumbag that 'fathered' me, and instead became hungry to be the best. Period. I looked at the landscape of IWF and I told myself that I could take it over... that I could run roughshod over this place and do whatever I wanted. I could be the man... I could be 'the guy'.
But no one could guess it'd happen so fast. I went from nobody to champion overnight, and maybe it came too quickly in some peoples' eyes, but since day damn one I've been going out into that ring and proving why I am where I am, and why that Man of Steel belt means more than anything else in IWF. For months I did what I had to do, and then on one random Sacrifice, I got pinned.
....by Mike Laszlo.
You did it, big guy. You finally did something. You're the first guy to pin me, and I'm sure you're still riding high off of it.
You pinned me, Mike.... you didn't beat me. You didn't win over me. One match does not a career make, Mikey, and although that's still the only thing you've done of worth here, it doesn't mean a god damned thing. Because it's a few weeks later, and how have things changed? You're still losing all the time, and I'm still the Man of Steel. I'm still the hottest thing in wrestling, and you're the guy who does his best work on Twitter. You didn't win the battle and you damn sure didn't win the war.
Because there isn't one. Sunday, I drop a nuke on you."
___________________________________________________________________________________________
{Blade hugs his mother even tighter.}
Ryan Blade: "But look. We're all in this together. You, me, Paul, Chels... even Jessie was asking about you."
Mom: "And Chase."
Ryan Blade: "...and Chase. And since we're in this together... you shaved your head? I'm going to do the same."
{Blade's mom pulls back and looks at her son in the face. She reaches up and tussels his black hair.}
Mom: "Oh no you're not. I gave you a beautiful head of hair and you're not shaving it. Plus, that's your look. You need it for your career."
Ryan Blade: "But mom...."
Mom: "No buts. No son of mine is going to shave off that beautiful hair.... Except Chase, but he did it before I could say anything."
Ryan Blade: "Chase....."
{Blade's mother wipes the tears from her eyes and holds her boy close like she did back when he was a baby. In his head, Blade thinks about how far removed we are from the coddling days... he thinks about how he's a champion in one of the biggest wrestling promotions in the world, and still he goes home and gets treated like he never left. No matter how hectic life on the road gets; no matter what challenges he faces, Ryan can always go home. Even in the face of cancer, peace can be found in Virginia Beach.... serenity in the arms of the ones we love.
Blade's mother finally stops squeezing him and walks over towards the refrigerator, motioning for her son to sit down at the kitchen table. She opens the door and pulls out a pitcher of lemonade, and starts to pour a glass for Ryan.}
Ryan Blade: Well tell me something I can do, ma. I feel like I'm on the road away from home, and you're going through this without me mostly. I feel like such an ass."
{The mother to Blade and Chase puts a glass in front of her son and sits down at the table across from him.}
Mom: "There is something you could do."
{She reaches across the table and grabs her son's hand, holding it.}
Mom: "Go out there every day and live life to the fullest. Don't let wrestling get you too down, but always cherish the moments that make you the most proud. And for the love of god, be good to Chelsea. I know she and I don't always see eye to eye, but she's a wonderful young woman. Truthfully, I wouldn't mind having her as a daughter-in-law some day."
{Blade looks up from the table and looks at his mother in the eye. Even in the face of adversity, she's more worried about her childrens' lives. Live for now... a message that strikes Blade right in the soul. He's been so caught up in chasing his dreams as a wrestler, he has hasn't stopped to think about 'the now' instead of the future.}
Ryan Blade: "I love you, mom. Hair or no hair, you're still the most wonderful, most special woman in the world."
Mom: "I'd have to be, to raise two sons like you and Chase."
Ryan Blade: "I'm really happy I talked to you today, mom. You helped me out so much, you have no idea. I see everything so clearly now."
Mom: "Hey. It's what moms do."
{End.}
___________________________________________________________________________________________
"There's a lot more to being a champion then you'll ever realize, Laszlo. You've had belts in the past and you've faced the biggest names in the business, but do you truly know what it means to have the weight of an entire division on your shoulders? When IWF was starting out, they didn't know who I was. They didn't know what I can do, but still they gave me the opportunity and I ran with it. I put this division on my back and I've carried it month after month, and now, we're headlining a pay-per-view. I took the weight of the world and I thrived under that ridiculous pressure. I could tell you I was born to be a champion, but honestly, who knows if that's true or not. What is true, however, is that now that I've had a taste for the gold? I'm not going to ever let that taste go away.
I'm going to fight and scratch and rip you to shreds to keep this belt on my shoulder. The belt doesn't make the champion, the champion makes the belt. This Man of Steel belt made me a hot topic in the wrestling community, but I put this division on the map. I make people care. Whether I have the belt or not, I'll always be a champion.... but the belt just solidifies that fact.
And it's no secret how you feel about me, Mike. Everyone knows what you think about the Man of Steel Division. I'm a champion of a worthless division, right? The Man of Steel is a consolation prize? A joke? That's what you think, isn't it? Now look how fate takes such a fantastic turn. The champion you don't respect and the belt you don't want, and it's the biggest thing to ever happen to you. But it's not even bitter-sweet, is it? It's just bitter. Because if you lose on Sunday, big deal... you're used to it. If you win? You're the champion of the jokes.
...the king of nothing.
A title that fits you perfectly.
That's the pitfall of being a mouthy little bitch, Mike. You talk and you talk about how great you are and how meaningless everything else is... until the day that you need that meaningless belt. ...Until you need to legitimize yourself and beat the most dominant champion in wrestling. After all of the losses and the near-misses, you need this more than ever.
You need the belt you called a joke, to keep yourself from being a joke.
But it's too late for that, Mikey. You've showed us all time and time again that that's exactly what you are. Serious competitiors don't brag about ALMOST winning matches, or looking good against this guy or that guy. CHAMPIONS don't tell us who they nearly beat... champions win matches. The Man of Steel doesn't settle for moral victories, kiddo.... we get the actual thing. And although you pinned me last month when I was at my highest, I'm about to show you that with the lights on bright and all the chips down, this champion will always rise to the ocassion.
This champion will always win, and this champion will always be a better man that Mike goddamn Laszlo. Because I am what I am, and you'll always be what you are right now...
The guy who nearly gets the job done.
The guy who nearly beat Roberto Verona.
The guy who nearly won the Heavyweight Champion.
And the guy who was nearly relevant."
Ryan Blade: "Mom? You home?"
Mom: "Yeah, honey. I'll be there in a minute."
Ryan Blade: "I'm twenty years old, mom. I think it's time to cool with with the cute names."
Mom: "You'll never be too old for cute names, sweetie pie."
{Ryan rolls his eyes and smiles to himself.}
Ryan Blade: "Geez."
{The young wrestling star folds his hands and twiddles his thumbs for a moment before standing up and heading over to a glass cabinet. Inside we see photos of Blade and brother, Chase on Christmas morning, opening up their gifts. We also see the boys playing on a swingset, and another photo of the kids sitting, smiling with their mother. Blade opens the glass door and pulls out the framed picture, holding it with both hands and looking down. He runs his thumb over the picture and swallows deep, looking back at happier, easier times. Sure it wasn't easy growing up without a dad, but his mom always made sure both boys had everything they needed. They didn't have the best toys or the nicest clothes, but they always had love.
And maybe that's why Blade is the way he is now. He always had the love.... he always had the validation from his mother, while always competing with his brother in everything. He's a good kid, but he's always strived to be the center of attention even though he got a ton of it. That's life with a sibling though. Blade loved Chase too, even if it was tough to admit it.
Now here he is, back at home with the adoration and respect from millions of fans across the world, and all he cares about is the one women who gave him that from the start.}
Mom: "Ryan."
{Blade snaps out of memory lane.}
Ryan Blade: "Yeah, mom?"
Mom: "Something happened recently, and it was kind of a major change... and I just wanted to warn you so you don't get startled."
Ryan Blade: "What are you talking about? Something happened here? At the house?"
Mom: "Not exactly. I didn't want to tell you when over the phone, but the chemo has really been doing a number on me physically.... and one of the side effects can be that you lose your hair."
{Blade's mother steps into the room and we see her newly bald head in the light. Her eyes well up with tears as Blade walks over to her and gives her a hug.}
Mom: "Some came out in the shower the other day. I had to shave it off."
Ryan Blade: "It's okay, mom."
{Blade hugs his mom as she cries a bit into his shoulder. We see Blade start to fight back tears as well as he stares at the wall, not saying a word. What can you say in a moment like this? Sure it's just hair, but it's so much more than that. It's seeing the strongest woman in the entire world at her weakest moment. And even now she's still trying to be strong for her son.}
Mom: "I know it's silly, but it still hurts."
Ryan Blade: "I know.... I know."
___________________________________________________________________________________________
"Well this is it. The day that everyone's been waiting on for some time has finally come... the day I main event my first wrestling pay-per-view. I could go on and on and tell you all about how I knew that it was going to happen eventually, but honestly, who could have predicted this? Everyone who gets into wrestling dreams about one day being 'the guy'. They sit up at night and think about being the biggest star in the business.... about having it all.
Me? I just wanted to show the world, and a certain deadbeat that I mean someting. I wanted to show the world that you don't have to be a statistic. Funnily enough though, I ended up becoming a statistic of another kind.
Number one.
Somewhere along the line I stopped wanting to be better than the scumbag that 'fathered' me, and instead became hungry to be the best. Period. I looked at the landscape of IWF and I told myself that I could take it over... that I could run roughshod over this place and do whatever I wanted. I could be the man... I could be 'the guy'.
But no one could guess it'd happen so fast. I went from nobody to champion overnight, and maybe it came too quickly in some peoples' eyes, but since day damn one I've been going out into that ring and proving why I am where I am, and why that Man of Steel belt means more than anything else in IWF. For months I did what I had to do, and then on one random Sacrifice, I got pinned.
....by Mike Laszlo.
You did it, big guy. You finally did something. You're the first guy to pin me, and I'm sure you're still riding high off of it.
You pinned me, Mike.... you didn't beat me. You didn't win over me. One match does not a career make, Mikey, and although that's still the only thing you've done of worth here, it doesn't mean a god damned thing. Because it's a few weeks later, and how have things changed? You're still losing all the time, and I'm still the Man of Steel. I'm still the hottest thing in wrestling, and you're the guy who does his best work on Twitter. You didn't win the battle and you damn sure didn't win the war.
Because there isn't one. Sunday, I drop a nuke on you."
___________________________________________________________________________________________
{Blade hugs his mother even tighter.}
Ryan Blade: "But look. We're all in this together. You, me, Paul, Chels... even Jessie was asking about you."
Mom: "And Chase."
Ryan Blade: "...and Chase. And since we're in this together... you shaved your head? I'm going to do the same."
{Blade's mom pulls back and looks at her son in the face. She reaches up and tussels his black hair.}
Mom: "Oh no you're not. I gave you a beautiful head of hair and you're not shaving it. Plus, that's your look. You need it for your career."
Ryan Blade: "But mom...."
Mom: "No buts. No son of mine is going to shave off that beautiful hair.... Except Chase, but he did it before I could say anything."
Ryan Blade: "Chase....."
{Blade's mother wipes the tears from her eyes and holds her boy close like she did back when he was a baby. In his head, Blade thinks about how far removed we are from the coddling days... he thinks about how he's a champion in one of the biggest wrestling promotions in the world, and still he goes home and gets treated like he never left. No matter how hectic life on the road gets; no matter what challenges he faces, Ryan can always go home. Even in the face of cancer, peace can be found in Virginia Beach.... serenity in the arms of the ones we love.
Blade's mother finally stops squeezing him and walks over towards the refrigerator, motioning for her son to sit down at the kitchen table. She opens the door and pulls out a pitcher of lemonade, and starts to pour a glass for Ryan.}
Ryan Blade: Well tell me something I can do, ma. I feel like I'm on the road away from home, and you're going through this without me mostly. I feel like such an ass."
{The mother to Blade and Chase puts a glass in front of her son and sits down at the table across from him.}
Mom: "There is something you could do."
{She reaches across the table and grabs her son's hand, holding it.}
Mom: "Go out there every day and live life to the fullest. Don't let wrestling get you too down, but always cherish the moments that make you the most proud. And for the love of god, be good to Chelsea. I know she and I don't always see eye to eye, but she's a wonderful young woman. Truthfully, I wouldn't mind having her as a daughter-in-law some day."
{Blade looks up from the table and looks at his mother in the eye. Even in the face of adversity, she's more worried about her childrens' lives. Live for now... a message that strikes Blade right in the soul. He's been so caught up in chasing his dreams as a wrestler, he has hasn't stopped to think about 'the now' instead of the future.}
Ryan Blade: "I love you, mom. Hair or no hair, you're still the most wonderful, most special woman in the world."
Mom: "I'd have to be, to raise two sons like you and Chase."
Ryan Blade: "I'm really happy I talked to you today, mom. You helped me out so much, you have no idea. I see everything so clearly now."
Mom: "Hey. It's what moms do."
{End.}
___________________________________________________________________________________________
"There's a lot more to being a champion then you'll ever realize, Laszlo. You've had belts in the past and you've faced the biggest names in the business, but do you truly know what it means to have the weight of an entire division on your shoulders? When IWF was starting out, they didn't know who I was. They didn't know what I can do, but still they gave me the opportunity and I ran with it. I put this division on my back and I've carried it month after month, and now, we're headlining a pay-per-view. I took the weight of the world and I thrived under that ridiculous pressure. I could tell you I was born to be a champion, but honestly, who knows if that's true or not. What is true, however, is that now that I've had a taste for the gold? I'm not going to ever let that taste go away.
I'm going to fight and scratch and rip you to shreds to keep this belt on my shoulder. The belt doesn't make the champion, the champion makes the belt. This Man of Steel belt made me a hot topic in the wrestling community, but I put this division on the map. I make people care. Whether I have the belt or not, I'll always be a champion.... but the belt just solidifies that fact.
And it's no secret how you feel about me, Mike. Everyone knows what you think about the Man of Steel Division. I'm a champion of a worthless division, right? The Man of Steel is a consolation prize? A joke? That's what you think, isn't it? Now look how fate takes such a fantastic turn. The champion you don't respect and the belt you don't want, and it's the biggest thing to ever happen to you. But it's not even bitter-sweet, is it? It's just bitter. Because if you lose on Sunday, big deal... you're used to it. If you win? You're the champion of the jokes.
...the king of nothing.
A title that fits you perfectly.
That's the pitfall of being a mouthy little bitch, Mike. You talk and you talk about how great you are and how meaningless everything else is... until the day that you need that meaningless belt. ...Until you need to legitimize yourself and beat the most dominant champion in wrestling. After all of the losses and the near-misses, you need this more than ever.
You need the belt you called a joke, to keep yourself from being a joke.
But it's too late for that, Mikey. You've showed us all time and time again that that's exactly what you are. Serious competitiors don't brag about ALMOST winning matches, or looking good against this guy or that guy. CHAMPIONS don't tell us who they nearly beat... champions win matches. The Man of Steel doesn't settle for moral victories, kiddo.... we get the actual thing. And although you pinned me last month when I was at my highest, I'm about to show you that with the lights on bright and all the chips down, this champion will always rise to the ocassion.
This champion will always win, and this champion will always be a better man that Mike goddamn Laszlo. Because I am what I am, and you'll always be what you are right now...
The guy who nearly gets the job done.
The guy who nearly beat Roberto Verona.
The guy who nearly won the Heavyweight Champion.
And the guy who was nearly relevant."
Well howdy there pardner.