The scene opens inside a long abandoned building. It’s not a former warehouse or an apartment building though, this one served a very specific purpose. It was a theater. Dust hangs in the air. Torn velvet curtains drape from the walls. Rows of seats that are slowly falling apart, some even missing entirely, lead towards the stage.
The old wooden planks that make up the stage creak loudly under the footsteps. Adam Stryker enters the scene from stage right, in black jeans and a Napalm Death t-shirt. The AWS Undisputed Championship is resting proudly on his shoulder. Adam sits cross-legged in the center of the stage, laying the championship in front of him for everyone to see.
“Funny thing about places like this,” Adam says.
“They used to be amazing. Packed full of people. Talk of the town. Grandiose shows every single day. All the glitter and gold you can imagine. They were built on worship and old fame. They USED to matter. And then they didn’t. It felt sudden to some, but those who paid enough attention could see it all falling apart for a long time.”
He looks around the theater.
“Some were revitalized. Took their time, but found new purpose. A whole new life,” he says, looking down at his championship.
“And others… Just stood there, held up by the last bits of their old fame. Slowly but surely falling apart.”
Adam takes a second again, locking eyes on the camera.
“You see where I’m going with this, right?” he says, smirking.
“Me and Vin Halsted. Two old timers. Two veterans who became champions everywhere they stepped foot. The Gold Standard versus The Last Standard. For the biggest prize in the company. Two men who should have been terrifyingly similar… But went down two very different roads.”
He nods.
“You’ve heard my story already. I was as good as retired and basically one-legged some eight years ago. But I spent every single day of those eight years doing my best to come back. When I did, it took me four matches to become the AWS Undisputed Champion. I could have easily lived off of past glories, titles won long ago, my wrestling school… But I worked my ass off to come back better than I ever was. And this right here,” he taps on the title, “shows I did just that. No nostalgia tour, no playing the hits – instead, the most dominant run of my entire career.”
A satisfied smile forms on his face.
“My opponent Vin Halsted also holds gold in AWS now, as one half of the Tag Team Champions… But it just doesn’t feel the same to me. Because look at the last few weeks you’ve had in AWS. You got a shot at the Parental Advisory title, but you got pinned by Orphius Marius. Then, you and young Feigel tagged against me and my son. Davey, who’s eighteen years old and his matches wrestled don’t even go to double digits, pinned you, Vin. The look of embarrassment on your face when you got beaten by a rookie was the sweetest rewards.”
He chuckles.
“Honestly, looking at those results, I don’t even know why you’re getting a shot at me in the first place. I believed that at AWS, you have to EARN your opportunities. I certainly earned mine when I plowed through the so-called top stars of this place. But I guess you must be taking really good care of KD Feigel and changing his nappies well and often if you’re put in a position like this after two bad losses… But hey. I said I’d be a fighting champ, so I welcome any challenge.
I’ve said it once and I’ll happily repeat it – on Monday, I want the Vin Halsted of old. The violent, unpredictable solo fighter. Not the guy who babysits the CEO’s kid so they can “rule” an ever-changing tag division. You’re getting a shot at the Undisputed Championship, Halsted. I want you to lock the fuck in so when I beat you, it means something to everyone.“
Adam grabs the title and puts it on his shoulder again.
“Because beating Vin Halsted, whatever version of you shows up, big man… That already means something to me. In my eyes, Vin, you’re the final boss of my championship reign. I’ve beaten Leon Roberts, Hector Venegas, Drake Nygma, Daron Smythe, Ethan Murphy twice… You’re the last piece of the puzzle, the ultimate stamp on the fact that AWS is transitioning from the days of old and from giving the same crop of people their chances over and over again into a new era.”
Adam slowly shakes his head.
“That’s what you are now, Vin. Somewhere along the way, you started becoming AWS’s curator. A caretaker. The man seemingly chosen by the Feigel family, father and son, to preserve AWS’s legacy while trying to salvage his own. The guy that makes sure the dust hasn’t settled on the exhibits yet.
You showed us the Hall of Halsted, a shrine you built for yourself, with hidden chambers that echo your endless monologues about legacy and destiny. The fuckin’ mystical hot tub? Seriously?”
He laughs again.
“Seems to me you’re trying to persuade yourself about your mythical importance first and foremost, not us. Persuade yourself that you still matter as you still did years ago, in promotions long gone. That sounds like desperation to me. Big, loud moves of a man who’s terrified of time finally catching up to him, waking up one day realizing the business has moved on without him while he was too busy polishing his mythology. maybe that’s why this whole thing bothers you so much. Maybe that’s why you keep talking about being robbed and disrespected and overlooked. Because deep down, you can feel it happening.”
Adam looks at on the championship again.
“I appreciate my legacy, the titles I won years ago. But I don’t live off of them. Adam Stryker is the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World RIGHT NOW. The Last Standard of professional wrestling and where it is RIGHT NOW. I didn’t need your dumb mythical baths and snake oils, just hard work and perseverance to come back better than I ever was.
That’s the difference between us, Vin. You live surrounded by reminders of who you used to be. I fought my way back to becoming who I am RIGHT NOW!”
His voice echoes through the empty building.
“Monuments like this don’t die overnight, Vin. First, the crowds get smaller. Then the cracks start showing. Then people stop caring completely. Eventually all that’s left is a beautiful building full of old stories and fading memories while the world moves on somewhere else. I think that’s what scares you most. Not losing. Not pain. Irrelevance. Becoming nothing but a reminder of something that once was, but isn’t anymore.“
Adam stands up and adjusts the title on his shoulder.
“You wanted the Undisputed Championship match because you think holding this title would prove you still belong at the very top. That if you beat me, all the cracks disappear and the legend becomes untouchable again. But what happens when you lose? What happens when the great Vin Halsted walks into another big match talking about inevitability and legacy and walks out with empty hands again?“
He lets those words hang.
“Unlike you, Vin, I don’t need mythology. I don’t need halls and castles and shrines dedicated to me, reminding me who I once was.”
He pats the title on his shoulder.
“I know exactly who I am. And this Monday on Ward, when you’re looking up at the lights again… You’re gonna realize exactly who you are too.”
Adam walks off the stage as we fade to black.