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The Next Chapter Shannon Skanes is seen outside looking up at the rain. This would be bad enough in November, but at least it is expected then. This is the price to pay for being in a rain forest such as that surrounding the Fraser Valley. He steps out of the rain and under one of the tarps that is being set up to protect the fans from the elements. He is not happy with the one that is over the ring since the wind is blowing it around. He turns to head inside and finds himself face to face with Moose. "Why are you playing these games?" Moose asks. "The arena isn't set up yet and I think an exhibition like this could really get our names out there. "You're parading us out into dangerous conditions as if we're circus freaks." Shannon smirks. "Hey, you want to blame me for everything, that's just fine with me. Maybe you can blame me for the rain, too." Moose gives up and walks off, the camera following Moose. He heads towards the makeshift set up for the show he hopes won't end his career and finds Max Cameron standing next to the ring. "Moose, this is dangerous. I am totally with you on that." "You're not scheduled to have a match out here, Max." Max sighs. "Well, no, I am not. I just wanted you to know I understand where you are coming from. If I hadn't already agreed to work with Shannon and Pyro, I would be fighting to get you inside the building today." Moose grabs Max by the shoulder and smiles. "Look, I am not in the mood for your BS, Max. We all know your services are for sale and you work for the highest bidder. You'll be loyal to Shannon and Pyro until someone backs up a truck full of money to your door." "I wouldn't say a truck full." Not far away, Heidi Hawkins is having a rather spirited talk with Wyatt Gibson, Slim Pickens nearby working with a young fan and showing him a few simple, safe wrestling moves. He doesn't appear to be paying any attention to the rather loud arguing taking place so close by. "Wyatt, I am the most recent Ladies Champ and I have to wrestle in the rain! What part of this don't you get?" Wyatt is leaning back, clearly concerned she will strike him at any time. "I don't see why this is such a big deal. There is a tarp over the ring." Heidi sighs. "You have me wrestling Kaleigh Simms and our wrestling gear consists of white T-shirts and short shorts. There was even a note attached, in your handwriting, stating we get a little extra pay for NOT wearing bras." Wyatt nods. "I can see how that would be taken. I will talk to my sister about that one." "Don't pawn this off on Jordan. She had nothing to do with this. I am so tired of this company treating me like I am just eye candy. It's insulting." "I can talk to Shannon for you." "Yeah, thanks Wyatt. Talk to the guy who is pushing me down the card to protect his wife from me. She's fighting Samantha Johnson, a woman who hasn't been relevant in this business for years. I get to wrestle in what's little more than a wet T-shirt contest. There is some great booking." She storms off and Slim turns to face Wyatt, taking his attention off his young student for a moment. "You really are a peckerwood, aren't you?" he asks. Wyatt just walks off, though he isn't certain of where to go right now in this rain and chaos that Shannon has created. This is one of those days when he hates getting saddled with the angry workers and wishes he had stayed in hairdressing school. Anything would be better than this. ***** Shannon looks out at the gathered crowd. There might be a few hundred out here braving the conditions. The card was not officially announced in any of the local flyers, so there has been concern the whole way along that this might be sparsely attended. This is the latest ploy by the CWA to get its name out there and to be seen by new viewers who may have been fans before and become lost along the way. He winces when the music starts to play and the acoustics are either really bad or the equipment leaves a lot to be desired. It sounds bush league and the rain is making it look bush league. He has to hope for a better show than the conditions would dictate he is going to get. ***** "In hindsight, it was a bad decision," Wyatt says sitting in a studio with Ray Dees. The studio resembles that which the big boys usually use for their DVD sets. There are images hanging on black backdrops of various CWA stars defeating Max Cameron in retirement matches. "Well, it certainly didn't help with the public indecency charges," Ray says in agreement with Wyatt. Wyatt puts his head in his hands. "I had no clue that Heidi would end up in a brawl with Samantha Johnson or that Samantha would strip the poor girl naked in front of a crowd that included kids. I mean, I knew Sam had a dark side but I didn't know we would see all of Heidi's sides." "And Heidi states it was your fault she was in that position and is talking about suing you and the company." "Which is utter garbage, Ray. If anything, she was wearing more than she usually does to the ring with wrestling tights on one hand and here she was wearing shorts, a T-shirt and underwear. I feel as bad as anyone else for what happened." "But Parker Davis took the cake, didn't he?" Ray asks, shaking his head. "Well, he was just being Parker really." ***** Parker stands inside the ring, the first to enter the ring indoors today. He has a smirk on his face, well aware of what the CWA brass expect him to say tonight and not intending to follow any kind of script. They are going to regret giving him a microphone. "So here I am in front of all of you fine people again. Here I am and there you all are, ready to eat up whatever I have to tell you." "Deep" by Nine Inch Nails plays and Shannon Skanes makes his way to the ring as expected. He looks at Parker and shakes his head, apparently aware this is not going to go the way that they had planned as he already blew the introduction portion of this segment. "Oh, hey, it's Shannon Skanes. In my first edition of the Panto since 1886 for this dirty little company, I get to talk to the man responsible for the sorry state this company is in. It is a dirty little place and it is run by a dirty little man." Shannon has a microphone as well and he wants to steer this in the proper direction. "Okay, Parker, we are here to discuss who has been coming out here pretending to be Rated R since we all know it cannot possibly be the man himself." "No, that bores me boss man. I want to talk to you about the GWO." "This company under a different name?" "No, the GWO was different. The GWO was fresh. It was a happening place. It was a helluva lot better than this crap. See, you have become old and tired and so has the CWA. These fans are only here to get out of the rain because the only thing worse than watching the CWA in Vancouver is living in Vancouver itself." Parker smiles as the crowd boos him and, as usual, they are eating out of the palm of his hand. "Look, Parker, I allowed you to come back here and I am quickly regretting that decision. You could show at least an ounce of gratitude." "For what?" "For giving you a job." "Oh, you have been giving me a job for years. All I have done when you run the show is job. That's how the mighty GWO became the crappy CWA. That is where you blew it, my friend." Moose slips into the ring behind Shannon and tackles him to the mat. He and Parker then beat down the CWA owner while fans are torn on who they should be cheering for and there are murmurs about whether that was real or not. ***** "Shannon was pissed off after that and left me running the show," Wyatt says again from the studio. "I am getting tired of that happening. I think part of the reason for the state of the game in the CWA is how many damned enemies he has made over the years. Look at talents like Q, Vigilante, Dante, Ash, Dragon, Lucy Johnson, Lethal Weapon, Eli Ryder and the list goes on. He sends these guys away so pissed they tell their friends to stay away and the CWA devolves." "Well, even recently with the departure of people like Emma McIntyre and Devon Chaney, that would seem to underscore your point." "That is exactly my point. The Originals are then left carrying the show and they're tossed aside every time outsiders come in and show any interest in our company. We have guys like Scavenger, Vesuvius, Night Dweller, Blair Drake, Steve Hawkins, and others who had to be cheering to themselves when Moose and Parker attacked Shannon. I know that had been planned as a build up for Sunstroke in July, but it didn't quite work out that way. Like I said, I was left in charge and I had to keep guys like Slim and Moose happy. That is never easy." "Well, they would have to be happy for you to keep them happy Wyatt." "Ray, this is exactly my point yet again. I am amazed I am not an alcoholic from all the abuse I am put through around here." ***** The fans are fired up after seeing Kathy Smith retain her title with a clean victory against Samantha Johnson. Samantha was then attacked by Heidi Hawkins who was her street clothes and carrying a belt she whipped Johnson with, a move which further upset parents who brought little kids to what was dubbed as an exhibition. It has been more a sideshow than anything else. Max Cameron and Pyro stand shoulder to shoulder after they score a victory over Scavenger and Vesuvius, one where Pyro distracted the referee so that Max could hit Scavenger in the face with a chair before scoring the pinfall victory. "I shouldn't have to distract the referee like that, Max. It's just Scavenger and Vesuvius." "How many world titles have you won?" Max asks as they try to keep their voices down and maintain their outward unity for the fans. They roll out of the ring and start heading for the back while the arguing begins. "I am tired of being the guy who sticks around while you come and go as you please." "Are you kidding me, Mister Retirement? They have a T-shirt dedicated to your annual retirement!" "I am always in the CWA." Pyro follows Max down a hallway filled with backstage crew members who part like the Red Sea when they see these guys coming. Knowing how volatile these teammates have been lately, no one wants to get in their way. "Why are you walking so fast, Max? I thought we were the mighty Unrestricted?" Max stops and pokes Pyro's chest with his index finger as he talks. "I have your back inside that ring, but when the bell sounds and we are done with the match, I go my way and you go yours. You are getting your push as the mystery man playing as Ryan Yorke anyway." "Holy shit, you're on about that again! Look, I am NOT the person playing himself off as Rated R. The only push I get is usually one out the door when Shannon sees fit to rid himself of me. You get title shots handed to you since you're his favorite. You don't even need a decent angle to get it either. You just get whatever you want." Max laughs. "Right, my angle with Frank just happened without any plans. We created art and we didn't need a title to be involved either. Look at my battles with Leech that went on for years." "How many of those did you win anyway?" Pyro asks. "You're being a prick now. That's not even the point. My career has never been about the titles or winning all the time." "Right, it's been about money." "I am done with this conversation," Max says and he storms off, though Pyro is still close behind. ***** "I think we have a tremendous champion in Jack Spade. I think we have a really amazing underdog story in Slim Pickens. I don't think they have been utilized properly lately. I know neither of them feel they have been properly treated and Slim feels ripped off not to be the champ right now. He believes his work ethic alone make him champ and I agree with the guy, but Shannon is adamant about the title being with Spade right now. I really don't get it," Wyatt says from the CWA studio. "Well, they certainly have been with the company for a very long time. I am waiting every week to see new stars come in here and light the place up, but there seems to be a lack of incoming talent." Wyatt laughs. "A lack? Outside of Dark Shadow making a single appearance recently, it's been a ghost town for new guys coming in. I know wrestling isn't the big deal it once was and that there are a lot of promotions out there fighting for scant few free agents, but this is really sad. The Originals prop this place up and the event May 8th was saved by them and Moose really." "I don't think Moose would have been figured as a savior after attacking the boss like that." "Indeed, Shannon wanted me to punish him for actually siding with Parker Davis of all people at the event. I would have been all for that, but Moose is a tremendous asset to the CWA and I felt it would be unwise to just throw him aside on a night when we needed him. Besides, he had wrestled outside earlier in the day and looked good despite the conditions in a win over Deep Freeze." ***** Moose had entered the ring first and was one of twenty wrestlers entered. They were eliminated in the following order. 1. Fixxxer (by Samson) The upshot was Moose winning twenty-five thousand dollars. Slim Pickens eliminated Jack Spade. Pyro tossed Max Cameron over the top rope and stated after it was the adrenaline from having quickly eliminated both Scavenger and Vesuvius. There is doubt that Max is buying this explanation. ***** "So I am left with Moose a richer man for the experience, and a group of wrestlers who are not happy with how the night turned out. Fans were upset with nudity and whippings," Wyatt says with a heavy sigh. "I don't know yet if the city is going to press charges against the company. We had no clue what was going to happen there, but I keep hearing that we are responsible for whatever happens. Slim keeps calling and leaving messages counting down the days until he kicks my ass for not booking him a rematch for the title." "That would logically be your main event for Sunstroke," Ray suggests. "Logically, yes, but Max and Pyro are not going to accept being second fiddle and how can I deny Moose his spot after the crap he went through this week? Throw in Parker and his GWO flag waving and you have a giant mess for me to deal with since the boss doesn't want to. It just plan sucks to be the GM most of the time. Everyone hates you and you can be fired at the drop of the hat." Ray then faces the camera. "Maybe Wyatt is about to be out of work again? Tune in next week and find out!" We see closing credits on the show while Ray asks why catering doesn't carry Pepsi products. |