One Final Push

[Joe Everyman]

In time or so I'm told
I'm just another soul for sale... oh, well
The page is out of print
We are not permanent
We're temporary, temporary
Same old story

The scene slowly opens up inside of the Joe Everyman household. The camera is fixed on a calendar hanging on the kitchen wall. July Eighteenth is circled with a green pen several times with "Due Date!" written on the inside. After a few moments, a panicked Melanie rushes past the calendar and into the living room, where Joe is sitting, fixed on the television.

Melanie Brooks: Can you explain this?

She raises his hand, showing Joe an empty bottle of Crown Royal. Joe looks at Melanie and at the bottle for a moment before getting an annoyed look on his face.

Joe Everyman: Have you been snooping through the trash?

Melanie Brooks: It was inside of your car! Were you drinking and driving?!

Joe Everyman: No! God, no! ...I just drank it in there while it was in the garage.

Melanie Brooks: That doesn't make it any better! Why have you been drinking this heavily again?!

Joe stands up, looking down at the much shorter Melanie.

Joe Everyman: Why?

Joe quickly snatches the bottle from her, holding it in front of him, almost cradling it.

Joe Everyman: Have you not been watching Sacrifice the last couple weeks? I haven't won a match here... at all! I am a completely joke in everything I do, especially there!

Melanie Brooks: But... you aren't a joke.

Joe Everyman: Aren't I, though? Have you even watched any of it? I can't win. I can't get any attention. I can't get over with the new fans at all. And somehow, SOMEHOW, I squeaked my way into a match where I could land an Imperial Championship shot. Do you have ANY idea how much I want that?

Melanie stays silent, but nods slightly.

Joe Everyman: Do you really, though? Calling it an obsession wouldn't be giving it enough credit. I've been working my entire fucking career, working my ass of every single week, trying to win a world championship! And now, I am so close... again...

Melanie Brooks: But... you can do it this time! I know you can!

Joe licks his lips and places the bottle down on the coffee table.

Joe Everyman: You always tell me that I'll do better next time. And yet... do I? Do I ever do better next time?

Melanie Brooks: I think you do...

Joe Everyman: But I don't win. That's all that matters. I don't care if I come in second, because that's a loss to me. I know that I'm doing this because it's something I love. I know that I'm doing this to make sure that you and Aurora always have food on the table and a house to live in. But this is driving me crazy.

Melanie stands still, trying to think of something else encouraging to say to him.

Melanie Brooks: I'm... I'm sorry, Joe.

Joe lowers his eyebrows, confused at what she said.

Joe Everyman: Why are you sorry?

Melanie Brooks: Because I should be trying harder to help you.

Joe Everyman: This isn't about you, Melanie!

She recoils a little from what he said.

Joe Everyman: Don't make this about you. This is not about you. Your encouragement helps, but this is something I will have to do on my own. I'll turn it around. And if I don't...

Joe pauses, lost in his thoughts for a moment.

Melanie Brooks: ...and if you don't?

Joe Everyman: I really don't know. I just... don't know.

Joe grabs the bottle off of the coffee table and walks away from Melanie, walking up the stairs. Melanie watches him go and sits down on the couch. She slams her eyelids shut and squeezes them, trying to stop a few tears from pouring out.

Melanie Brooks: Please let him win this week... for all of our sakes...

Melanie continues to sit on the couch, trying not to cry, as the scene slowly fades to black.

It's finally time. It's finally the week that I've been looking for more than anything, and yet, regretting more than anything. If I win, I finally get my shot at the IWF Imperial Championship. If I win, I get the recognition that I've been dying for, for such a long time now. If I win, I will get the respect of being able to compete for a World Championship.

But, if I lose...

Where do I go? If I lose, then I will be zero and seven here, with absolutely nothing to show for any positives at all. If I lose, that's it. I will be back where I've always been, in the bottom. I will be the laughing stock of the entire company, just like every single company I've been a part of since I started in the professional wrestling business. I cannot allow this to happen to me again.

Despite not winning a match here, I'm still being pushed forward by wrestlers and fans alike. And it's not something I deserve most of the time. But dammit, I'm going to use it and try to get ahead of the pack. This week is do or die. Either I do, and get into possibly the biggest matches in my career... or I lose, failing again, and die out. I often hate when things are as black and white as that, but that's just how it is this week. I may get another shot down the line, if I'm so lucky, but that doesn't matter. What matters is the here and now.

This match is going to be huge. I'm going up against three great competitors who are all as hungry as I am. But, despite their successes and their accomplishments, none of them deserve this as much as I do. None of them come out here every single week and put all of their will into the matches. None of them have the fortitude to work every single week. None of them have the heart and determination that I do. And I can guarantee you that none of them would be willing to work double duty on a show to get everything you need done. If I win this match, and go onto Lineage to fight for the Imperial Championship, that will be exactly what I do.

Next week, win or loss, I will be fighting that insignificant prick, Steve Awesome. No matter what happens this week, I have a fight against him. And if I do win this week, I will have a chance of doing two amazing things; shutting up his arrogant face, and becoming the first Imperial Championship. And I wouldn't want it any other way.

I know that I've been a joke for... well, a lot of my career, but I have such an amazing chance to change that this week and next. If I can capture the Imperial Championship, all of that will be behind me. Never again will I be called a joke. Never again will I be called inconsistent. Never again will I be called a loser. I will only be called one thing.

The champion.

To do that, to ever get a glimpse of the gold, I have to go through Ryan Shane, Deathtrain and Mike Machado. These three are all great talents. And I'm going to have my work cut out for me this week. And first off, is Mike Machado, IWF's resident funny man.

Mike, you took a much more serious look at this match this week, which I think was the smart play. You can have your antics and your shenanigans all you like during the week, but this match is going to be the big time. You did say that it was do or die time. Do you believe that yourself? If you lose this match, where will your career end up? Will you continue to fight, trying to entertain your fans, or will you let your career die out? I can't make this decision for you. But for you, it will not be the end. I enjoy watching you work every single week. It's like watching my favorite sitcom every week. I mean, you're no Jason Segel, but see if he could compete in the ring like you do. I honestly think you have a good chance at this match. And if you do lose, which if I have my way you will, you still have a bright future. You make people happy, and that's something to be proud of.

But, moving onto someone who manages to suck the life and joy out of everything, Deathtrain. I don't like you. I never have. I think that you're a complete scum bag who is a horrible father and a horrible person. I try my best to find the best in someone, I really do. But when it comes to you, Train... I just can't. I really can't. I know that you're large and can paint a good word picture, but that's about it. Outside of that, you are a bargain bin Lex Sense, without the magical mic work. That will get you absolutely nowhere this week. The fact that you even made it into this qualifying match is remarkable, and I think we can all agree on that. And when I win this match, I'm going to do my best to make sure that your shoulders are the ones flat on the mat. Train, I've never liked you. I don't even respect you. You do not deserve to be in this match, and I will show you that on Sacrifice.

And finally, Ryan Shane. You beat Deathtrain a couple weeks ago, and stole a much needed win from right under me. And then, you pinned me, costing me even more points. If it wasn't for you, I would already be in the finals for this tournament and not in this match. But you know, that's fine. I can use my disdain for you to help fuel the fire burning inside of me. I can use it to push myself forward even harder than I was already. I completely plan on taking you down, Ryan. I plan on taking you out, and making you feel what I feel right now. I want to make you feel like you aren't good enough. I want to make you feel like you will never succeed. I want to make you feel like a joke. And I will do exactly those things this week. If it wasn't Deathtrain, I would want you to be the man I clobber for the win. You will get yours for everything that you did to me the past few weeks. I will show you that I am not one to fuck with. Shane, this will be your final stand, and you will fall.

This match will be my biggest in IWF so far, and will be my biggest until next week. Lex Sense, Cable Arcane and Mike Laszlo have already made it into the finals, and they all deserve it. And that last spot will be mine, because I deserve it the most. Nobody else in this match works as hard as me. Nobody else in this match can even compare to me. And even with all of my short comings, even with all of my failures and all of my so called legacy of being a joke, I still believe that I am the best wrestler this company has to offer. My fiance and my daughter both think that I am the best. And even though I doubt myself a lot, I can see through all of the smoke to see that the promise land lay not too far ahead. I can see it shining in the distance. It's just waiting for me to finally take a step onto it.

This week is my chance to put those demons to rest, even if just for a short while. All I need is one win, and maybe I can view my current standing in a better light. One win, and maybe I can slow down on my drinking. One win, and all things will be right in my world. Because one loss, and I could go down into the darkness even further. I cannot allow that to happen. I need to keep fighting. I need to win again. I cannot allow myself to become a complete joke again. I need to make myself ok again. I need to stop my drinking problem. I need to become a better father. All of that can be accomplished with one win. That is how much is weighing on me this week. And if I win... when I win... things will finally be set back onto the right course.

But, no matter what, there is one thing for sure. Next week, I have a huge date with destiny. I plan on walking into Lineage with my head high, and I plan on walking out with not one, but TWO huge victories under my belt. I will beat the living Christ out of Steve Awesome and put his ass into it's place, and I will for damn sure walk out of Lineage as the first EVER IWF Imperial Champion. So many have doubted me in the past... do you really want to be one of those who got it wrong about me? Do the smart thing and join this bandwagon while there is still some space left on it, because after this week, it's going to be bursting at the seems. I will beat Machado, Deathtrain and Shane, and I will walk into Lineage and do the one thing that everybody doubted I could do. I will do the one thing that nobody believes I could do. I will do the one thing that I have to do. I will become the IWF Imperial Champion.

Oh, and one last thing. Steve? Deuces, bitch.

I'm the voice inside your head
You refuse to hear
I'm the face that you have to face
Mirrored in your stare
I'm what's left, I'm what's right
I'm the enemy
I'm the hand that will take you down
Bring you to your knees