Happy Ending #92 - Raising the Benchmark
Sept 7, 2013 10:14:17 GMT -4
Jason Cashe, Evan De Parker, and 1 more like this
Post by SalTal on Sept 7, 2013 10:14:17 GMT -4
Internet Explorer-*click*-Favorites-*click*-APW.com-*click*-Meltdown Finale-*click*-Sally Talfourd-*click*-Loading...
"Sally Talfourd presents ..."
is written across the screen, fades out, then
"In association with Action Packed Wrestling..."
is next to appear, holds, then fades out for
"Happy Endings T.V."
Which finally fades to a shot of the wonderful, the beautiful, the glorious Sally Talfourd, dressed up in all her professional finest. You see, we’re back in APW HQ - ready for the monumental occasion that each and every APW fan has been waiting months and months and months for: Re-signing. Yes, Sally’ back, for good, in APW, and not a moment too soon. With Asylum (Sally refuses to call the show ‘Raab-a-mania’) hangig in the balance, it’s time to bring back a smile and a cheer and some grace to the place. Hey look - that rhymed!
Sitting in the high-winged chair, trying to look as serious as she can, the camera can’t help but to zoom in on the slight grin that she’s got in the corner of her mouth. It would be a full on smile if she could, but negotiations are serious. You need to play hardball and be a hard-ass if you’re going to get anywhere with contracts. In front of Sally is a closed leather binder, and next to it a fancy looking pen. Across from her is another APW suit - she’s seen them come and go, and Sally’s learned never to find out their name. So you’re not about to find out either.
[Suit] So, if nothings changed since the last meeting ... you can go ahead and sign off on the new contract.
Sally reaches over for the pen, hesitating. Instead of picking it up, she opens up the binder and thumbs through the pages. She nods, approvingly. She knows what’s in there and, to be honest, she doesn’t want to change a single thing. She just wants ... well ... best to hear it from her.
[Sally] I just ... there’s nothing technically wrong. I’d just like to, you know, request one thing.
Nervous, the suit starts to fumble over himself. He doesn’t want to be known as the guy who lost Sally Talfourd as a wrestler at APW.
[Suit] Well, I guess we’d be more able to accommodate and requests and those sorts of things if you were an actual employee. And, if you could just sign ...
[Sally] I mean, I want to make the big return something memorable, something great. I want to lay down the return match here, in this contract, you know? Just to make sure it all happens.
[Suit] I don’t think we can do that ...
Sally lets out a long sigh, then starts to close the folio.
[Sally] Well, I don’t know then ...
As she trails her words off, feigning a real sense of disinterest, the suit almost leaps forward to slide his fingers between the two covers of the folio. In his mind, when that thing closes, the deal is off. It’s this that winds the hearts and minds of Sally, that really gets the fans and the non-fans interested with all their everything.
[Suit] Wait ... we can do something. Just, write it down and I’ll make it work. Please, sign the contract, and we’ll get everything you want.
Sally’s grin comes back. She whips open the binder and takes up the pen. In two swift swishes of the pen, Sally’s back to being an APW wrestler. And then, three letters later, she’s locked in her first opponent. She slips the cap of the pen back on, turns the binder upside-down, then slides it across the to suit. He reads it, as Sally gets up to leave, then looks up at her.
[Suit] AJP?
[Sally] It’s in the contract now.
Sally gives the suit a wink as she heads out of the negotiating room and into her newest phase of her APW career. The scene fades out to black, holding there so that all you fans and fellow wrestlers (and, by default, potential opponents) can register what just happened: Sally’s back! A few second later, the shot returns to a much more dressed-down Sally Talfourd. Dangling her legs over what looks to be a pretty run-down and old wrestling ring, the drench of seat around her neck, under her arms, and (even though you can’t see it) down her back tells us that this is training day. And, given how much sweat there is ... it’s a hard training day. She’s there with her regular training - Rob - who as seen her through the best and worst times of her career. Now she’s ready to start the best time of her career, she couldn’t trust anyone else to whip her into shape.
[Rob] Sal, I don’t say this often, but ...
[Sally] You love me?
[Rob] No, I say I ...
[Sally] Are you sure? Because you don’t say that often.
[Rob] No, I say ...
[Sally] Actually, I don’t think you’ve said that ...
[Rob] Sal!
[Sally] ... ever.
Sally smiles a beaming, ‘you can’t be mad at me’ smile to Rob. He sighs, shakes his head.
[Rob] I was gonna say I respect ya for gettin’ this match here. Ya coula gone for the easy one, but ya aimed big. I respect ya for that.
Rob jabs Sally on the shoulder, a rare showing of affection and, well, respect form a trainer that only really respects accomplishments. Sally seems pleased with herself, nods with a smile. She respects herself.
[Sally] Well, you know ... what else was there to do? Why come back, onto to take on some undercard rookie? Or a broke-down veteran? Or someone like Mannie? I mean, the fans want to see good matches - they’re dying to see good matches. But more than that - if I’m going to make a comeback, I need to get back to where I was as quickly as I can. I left while I was main eventing. And this match could easily be a main event. Why act as if anything’s different? as if anything’s changed?
[Rob] Good mindset. Good thinkin’. Ya keep thinkin’ nothin’s changed and it ain’t gonna be any different from when ya were there before. Only difference is gonna be up here *Rob taps Sally on the temple, maybe a little harder than Sally would like*. Ya got more experience with more wrestlers. You been all over tha place now, ya won some titles and beat some names. Now ya back and ya got more of the know-how to beat some of tha people here.
Again, Sally nods. She has gone out. And she has experienced some of the world. And, believe it or not, in that time she’s collected some titles and defeated some very big names. But, now that she’s here in APW, they aren’t worth repeating. They aren’t even worth talking about. Because if you haven’t done in it APW, you don’t deserve to talk about it. APW is where it’s at. APW is where the competition is the best. APW is, beyond a doubt, the pinnacle of sports entertainment. No, screw that: APW is the pinnacle of wrestling, period.
[Sally] And if I needed to learn how to beat anyone here - it’s Aubrey. Remember last time? When Phil was ref’ing that match?
[Rob] Mhmm.
There’s a strong sound of disappointment in his sound there, and almost a shame to Sally’s action. She can’t meet his eyes, and she looks down to her dangling feet.
[Sally] ... I didn’t deserve that win. I didn’t earn it or fight for it. Heck Rob - I don’t even feel like I won! I got handed an unfair win in what was clearly an unfair match, for both of us. Phil Atken was never more than a mistake in the making, and he knew it. And his way to get over it was to play mind games - with everyone! He never cared about fairness. He never cared about Asylum. And it showed, in that match.
But I wanted Aubrey because I did care about Asylum. I still care about it. I care enough about it to give the show the respect of having a true and fair fight between us. Asylum lives on in the wrestlers like us. As long as there are wrestlers like Aubrey and myself fighting and wrestling and stepping into the ring in front of the cameras ... in front of the fans ... Asylum lives and breaths and grows with us.
Sally pushes off the ring’s apron to stand in front of Rob. She seems to have talked herself into action. And why shouldn’t she want to get into the ring - she’s been gone for so long! She’s back to remind everyone of just who she is and what she can do.
[Rob] Don’t be gettin’ too far ahead of ya self. Yeah Asylum is good an’ all. An’ ya good for it too. But ya be remembering that this here match ya in ... it’s still a wrestlin’ match. It’s somethin’ you got to fight in. And if ya want to win, ya got to earn it.
[Sally] Oh trust me Rob - I haven’t forgotten that. I know how tough this will be. Aubrey - she’s a heck of a talent. I mean, watching from the sidelines for a few months now, it’s been the strength of Terry and Aubrey in the main event. They’ve been setting the standard for everyone else to meet. And, sure, the rest of the place has stepped up to meet them, there’s no doubt about that. But they’re the benchmark. To be able to step in against half of that ... don’t think I’ve forgotten how hard this will be.
You see, I know how hard Aubrey has worked for her place here. I know how tough it has been for her. How? How do I know it? Because I did it. I did exactly what she’s doing now. I started as a nobody in APW. I started as a JAW - just another woman. Just another woman ... trying to get her pay day. Just another woman ... looking to get on TV. Just another woman ... who thought she could wrestler. And every time someone called me that ... every time someone thought I was ‘just another woman’ I stepped up and proved them wrong. I did it on OverDrive, then I came and did it on Asylum.
I did what Aubrey is still trying to do. I worked my way into the main event. That much she’s done. But I was able to seal the deal, so to speak. I was able to be better than Aubrey has been yet. I was able to beat Terry Marvin. And I was able to win the Undisputed Title. And the World Heavyweight Title. I was able to blaze a trail that she, in turn, had to follow. And I say ‘had to follow’ for a reason: Because no matter how hard she tried, she was always being compared to me.
Rob lets out a laugh, shaking his head. Sally’s interested, amused, as to why that would be funny to him.
[Rob] Not really tha worst thing to have said about ya - that ya bein’ like you, Sal.
[Sally] Well, no, I imagine you could say much worse things. But ... no one who is great in this business wants to be someone else. Aubrey doesn’t want to be ‘like’ Sally Talfourd. Aubrey doesn’t want to be ‘another’ Sally Talfourd. Aubrey doesn’t even want to be compared to Sally Talfourd! Aubrey wants to be Aubrey - she wants to be her own woman, so to speak. And I get that. I get how annoying it must be to be compared to me each and every time she steps in front of the camera. But ...
Sally stops herself, Rob frowns at her. He thought he’d beat this second-guessing out of her a long time ago.
[Rob] But what?
Sally looks up with a smile. A smile of confidence. A smile of achievement. A smile that lets everyone know that she’s back. No second-guessing here.
[Sally] But she can’t do any of that until she’s beat me. She will always be compared to me because ... simply ... between the two of us, only one has done it all. Only one of us was the first female Undisputed Champion. Only one of us was the first to hold both top titles. Only one of us has won elimination chambers and Test for the Best and tournaments and ... well, you get the picture. Until she can lay claim to being better than me at all this, she will always be a comparison to me. She has a long way to go before these roles are reversed, before I get compared to her. And she’ll know it when we step into the ring. Because while I might respect her, I know she respects me more. More because she knows what I can do. More because she knows what I have done. More because, well, I’m Sally Talfourd. And she’s Aubrey J. Parker. And there’s a reason that Talfourd is the benchmark that she aspires to.
So this match is simple enough for me to get excited about. While Aubrey is probably bouncing off the walls at the opportunity to show the word she’s better at me, I’m even more excited to get back out there and remind the world why I’m the standard. Why I’m the comparison. Why I’m the person that everyone spoke about even while I was gone. I want this match to not only herald my return, but to be the reminder for everyone - fan and wrestler alike - about just who I am and what I can do. I want this to be the moment that APW sits up, takes notice, and realises that the benchmark is about to be raised a whole lot higher.
[Rob] Then let’s get back in here and make it happen.
Rob points with his thumb over his shoulder, back to the ring. With a wink and a nod, Sally runs at the ring, under the robs, and comes up in the centre of the ring. Rob - old and tired, carefully and slowly makes his way through, and then starts to bark his orders. Sally gets to, hitting the ropes, evading Rob, and doing all those things she’s done for years. All those things that have made her the benchmark, and made her the comparison for Aubrey. The scene fades out on all this action to a blank screen, where:
“Sally Talfourd”
Is handwritten across the screen. There’s a hold on that, and then the screen fades out and the episode comes to a close.
"Sally Talfourd presents ..."
is written across the screen, fades out, then
"In association with Action Packed Wrestling..."
is next to appear, holds, then fades out for
"Happy Endings T.V."
Which finally fades to a shot of the wonderful, the beautiful, the glorious Sally Talfourd, dressed up in all her professional finest. You see, we’re back in APW HQ - ready for the monumental occasion that each and every APW fan has been waiting months and months and months for: Re-signing. Yes, Sally’ back, for good, in APW, and not a moment too soon. With Asylum (Sally refuses to call the show ‘Raab-a-mania’) hangig in the balance, it’s time to bring back a smile and a cheer and some grace to the place. Hey look - that rhymed!
Sitting in the high-winged chair, trying to look as serious as she can, the camera can’t help but to zoom in on the slight grin that she’s got in the corner of her mouth. It would be a full on smile if she could, but negotiations are serious. You need to play hardball and be a hard-ass if you’re going to get anywhere with contracts. In front of Sally is a closed leather binder, and next to it a fancy looking pen. Across from her is another APW suit - she’s seen them come and go, and Sally’s learned never to find out their name. So you’re not about to find out either.
[Suit] So, if nothings changed since the last meeting ... you can go ahead and sign off on the new contract.
Sally reaches over for the pen, hesitating. Instead of picking it up, she opens up the binder and thumbs through the pages. She nods, approvingly. She knows what’s in there and, to be honest, she doesn’t want to change a single thing. She just wants ... well ... best to hear it from her.
[Sally] I just ... there’s nothing technically wrong. I’d just like to, you know, request one thing.
Nervous, the suit starts to fumble over himself. He doesn’t want to be known as the guy who lost Sally Talfourd as a wrestler at APW.
[Suit] Well, I guess we’d be more able to accommodate and requests and those sorts of things if you were an actual employee. And, if you could just sign ...
[Sally] I mean, I want to make the big return something memorable, something great. I want to lay down the return match here, in this contract, you know? Just to make sure it all happens.
[Suit] I don’t think we can do that ...
Sally lets out a long sigh, then starts to close the folio.
[Sally] Well, I don’t know then ...
As she trails her words off, feigning a real sense of disinterest, the suit almost leaps forward to slide his fingers between the two covers of the folio. In his mind, when that thing closes, the deal is off. It’s this that winds the hearts and minds of Sally, that really gets the fans and the non-fans interested with all their everything.
[Suit] Wait ... we can do something. Just, write it down and I’ll make it work. Please, sign the contract, and we’ll get everything you want.
Sally’s grin comes back. She whips open the binder and takes up the pen. In two swift swishes of the pen, Sally’s back to being an APW wrestler. And then, three letters later, she’s locked in her first opponent. She slips the cap of the pen back on, turns the binder upside-down, then slides it across the to suit. He reads it, as Sally gets up to leave, then looks up at her.
[Suit] AJP?
[Sally] It’s in the contract now.
Sally gives the suit a wink as she heads out of the negotiating room and into her newest phase of her APW career. The scene fades out to black, holding there so that all you fans and fellow wrestlers (and, by default, potential opponents) can register what just happened: Sally’s back! A few second later, the shot returns to a much more dressed-down Sally Talfourd. Dangling her legs over what looks to be a pretty run-down and old wrestling ring, the drench of seat around her neck, under her arms, and (even though you can’t see it) down her back tells us that this is training day. And, given how much sweat there is ... it’s a hard training day. She’s there with her regular training - Rob - who as seen her through the best and worst times of her career. Now she’s ready to start the best time of her career, she couldn’t trust anyone else to whip her into shape.
[Rob] Sal, I don’t say this often, but ...
[Sally] You love me?
[Rob] No, I say I ...
[Sally] Are you sure? Because you don’t say that often.
[Rob] No, I say ...
[Sally] Actually, I don’t think you’ve said that ...
[Rob] Sal!
[Sally] ... ever.
Sally smiles a beaming, ‘you can’t be mad at me’ smile to Rob. He sighs, shakes his head.
[Rob] I was gonna say I respect ya for gettin’ this match here. Ya coula gone for the easy one, but ya aimed big. I respect ya for that.
Rob jabs Sally on the shoulder, a rare showing of affection and, well, respect form a trainer that only really respects accomplishments. Sally seems pleased with herself, nods with a smile. She respects herself.
[Sally] Well, you know ... what else was there to do? Why come back, onto to take on some undercard rookie? Or a broke-down veteran? Or someone like Mannie? I mean, the fans want to see good matches - they’re dying to see good matches. But more than that - if I’m going to make a comeback, I need to get back to where I was as quickly as I can. I left while I was main eventing. And this match could easily be a main event. Why act as if anything’s different? as if anything’s changed?
[Rob] Good mindset. Good thinkin’. Ya keep thinkin’ nothin’s changed and it ain’t gonna be any different from when ya were there before. Only difference is gonna be up here *Rob taps Sally on the temple, maybe a little harder than Sally would like*. Ya got more experience with more wrestlers. You been all over tha place now, ya won some titles and beat some names. Now ya back and ya got more of the know-how to beat some of tha people here.
Again, Sally nods. She has gone out. And she has experienced some of the world. And, believe it or not, in that time she’s collected some titles and defeated some very big names. But, now that she’s here in APW, they aren’t worth repeating. They aren’t even worth talking about. Because if you haven’t done in it APW, you don’t deserve to talk about it. APW is where it’s at. APW is where the competition is the best. APW is, beyond a doubt, the pinnacle of sports entertainment. No, screw that: APW is the pinnacle of wrestling, period.
[Sally] And if I needed to learn how to beat anyone here - it’s Aubrey. Remember last time? When Phil was ref’ing that match?
[Rob] Mhmm.
There’s a strong sound of disappointment in his sound there, and almost a shame to Sally’s action. She can’t meet his eyes, and she looks down to her dangling feet.
[Sally] ... I didn’t deserve that win. I didn’t earn it or fight for it. Heck Rob - I don’t even feel like I won! I got handed an unfair win in what was clearly an unfair match, for both of us. Phil Atken was never more than a mistake in the making, and he knew it. And his way to get over it was to play mind games - with everyone! He never cared about fairness. He never cared about Asylum. And it showed, in that match.
But I wanted Aubrey because I did care about Asylum. I still care about it. I care enough about it to give the show the respect of having a true and fair fight between us. Asylum lives on in the wrestlers like us. As long as there are wrestlers like Aubrey and myself fighting and wrestling and stepping into the ring in front of the cameras ... in front of the fans ... Asylum lives and breaths and grows with us.
Sally pushes off the ring’s apron to stand in front of Rob. She seems to have talked herself into action. And why shouldn’t she want to get into the ring - she’s been gone for so long! She’s back to remind everyone of just who she is and what she can do.
[Rob] Don’t be gettin’ too far ahead of ya self. Yeah Asylum is good an’ all. An’ ya good for it too. But ya be remembering that this here match ya in ... it’s still a wrestlin’ match. It’s somethin’ you got to fight in. And if ya want to win, ya got to earn it.
[Sally] Oh trust me Rob - I haven’t forgotten that. I know how tough this will be. Aubrey - she’s a heck of a talent. I mean, watching from the sidelines for a few months now, it’s been the strength of Terry and Aubrey in the main event. They’ve been setting the standard for everyone else to meet. And, sure, the rest of the place has stepped up to meet them, there’s no doubt about that. But they’re the benchmark. To be able to step in against half of that ... don’t think I’ve forgotten how hard this will be.
You see, I know how hard Aubrey has worked for her place here. I know how tough it has been for her. How? How do I know it? Because I did it. I did exactly what she’s doing now. I started as a nobody in APW. I started as a JAW - just another woman. Just another woman ... trying to get her pay day. Just another woman ... looking to get on TV. Just another woman ... who thought she could wrestler. And every time someone called me that ... every time someone thought I was ‘just another woman’ I stepped up and proved them wrong. I did it on OverDrive, then I came and did it on Asylum.
I did what Aubrey is still trying to do. I worked my way into the main event. That much she’s done. But I was able to seal the deal, so to speak. I was able to be better than Aubrey has been yet. I was able to beat Terry Marvin. And I was able to win the Undisputed Title. And the World Heavyweight Title. I was able to blaze a trail that she, in turn, had to follow. And I say ‘had to follow’ for a reason: Because no matter how hard she tried, she was always being compared to me.
Rob lets out a laugh, shaking his head. Sally’s interested, amused, as to why that would be funny to him.
[Rob] Not really tha worst thing to have said about ya - that ya bein’ like you, Sal.
[Sally] Well, no, I imagine you could say much worse things. But ... no one who is great in this business wants to be someone else. Aubrey doesn’t want to be ‘like’ Sally Talfourd. Aubrey doesn’t want to be ‘another’ Sally Talfourd. Aubrey doesn’t even want to be compared to Sally Talfourd! Aubrey wants to be Aubrey - she wants to be her own woman, so to speak. And I get that. I get how annoying it must be to be compared to me each and every time she steps in front of the camera. But ...
Sally stops herself, Rob frowns at her. He thought he’d beat this second-guessing out of her a long time ago.
[Rob] But what?
Sally looks up with a smile. A smile of confidence. A smile of achievement. A smile that lets everyone know that she’s back. No second-guessing here.
[Sally] But she can’t do any of that until she’s beat me. She will always be compared to me because ... simply ... between the two of us, only one has done it all. Only one of us was the first female Undisputed Champion. Only one of us was the first to hold both top titles. Only one of us has won elimination chambers and Test for the Best and tournaments and ... well, you get the picture. Until she can lay claim to being better than me at all this, she will always be a comparison to me. She has a long way to go before these roles are reversed, before I get compared to her. And she’ll know it when we step into the ring. Because while I might respect her, I know she respects me more. More because she knows what I can do. More because she knows what I have done. More because, well, I’m Sally Talfourd. And she’s Aubrey J. Parker. And there’s a reason that Talfourd is the benchmark that she aspires to.
So this match is simple enough for me to get excited about. While Aubrey is probably bouncing off the walls at the opportunity to show the word she’s better at me, I’m even more excited to get back out there and remind the world why I’m the standard. Why I’m the comparison. Why I’m the person that everyone spoke about even while I was gone. I want this match to not only herald my return, but to be the reminder for everyone - fan and wrestler alike - about just who I am and what I can do. I want this to be the moment that APW sits up, takes notice, and realises that the benchmark is about to be raised a whole lot higher.
[Rob] Then let’s get back in here and make it happen.
Rob points with his thumb over his shoulder, back to the ring. With a wink and a nod, Sally runs at the ring, under the robs, and comes up in the centre of the ring. Rob - old and tired, carefully and slowly makes his way through, and then starts to bark his orders. Sally gets to, hitting the ropes, evading Rob, and doing all those things she’s done for years. All those things that have made her the benchmark, and made her the comparison for Aubrey. The scene fades out on all this action to a blank screen, where:
“Sally Talfourd”
Is handwritten across the screen. There’s a hold on that, and then the screen fades out and the episode comes to a close.
