Road to Redemption

[Reaver]

26!

13!!


26!!!

HEE HEE HEE HAA HAAA!![/color]

The flickering of a flaming barrel can be seen inside a dark and empty apartment. All of Knuckles stuff has been pawned off so that he could help pay for his recent court battles but even with that, his utilities too have been shut off. So now he sits on the floor in darkness, glaring at the light of this flaming barrel as if to hypnotize himself of his recent memories.

He rocks himself back and forth as if to sooth himself from said recent events. Christmas Chaos was his to win, only to once again, have it taken from him by his old nemesis. He never even lost the match, he was pushed aside after doing all of the work. The story of his life he thought to himself. But the rocking didn't so much make him feel better, it was the memories that followed. His obsession, his curse.

Knuckles: HEE HEE HEE HAA HAA!!!

Mike, his camera guy, was just outside his apartment door. Afraid to enter with the echoes of giggles creeping him out. He tries to muster up some courage to walk in but to his efforts, they fail. He shakes in nervousness and decides to call Jeff instead. The dial tone rings and rings.....

Mike: Cmon, CMON!!

The phone continues to ring over and over until it finally kicks over to voice mail. President Jeff was a busy guy. Trying to run a successful organization and dealing with the multitude of recent pending lawsuits would make any normal man ignore their phone unless it was extremely important. So mike decides to leave a message and hope for the best.

Mike: Jeff? This is Mike Alesi, the camera guy assigned to handle Knuckles. I-I-I don't know if I can do this any more. John has changed over the past month and I don't think it's healthy. Look, this guy is nuts and I can't believe I'm going to be safe around him anymore. It's almost as if......

BEEP! If you are satisfied with your message, please hang up or press 1 for more options.

He looks at his phone is disbelief. Slowly turning his head towards the door, he decides to finally grow a pair and walk inside. The dark apartment filled with that after glow from the flame coming from the barrel made the shadow of Knuckles look that much creepier.

Knuckles: HEE HEE HEE HAA HAA!

Bundling himself up tight to keep from being cold as he rubs his hands over the barrel; muttering to himself. Mike put his hands on his head. He can't believe what has come of things. The lawsuit that took everything away from Knuckles, the obsession that has grown into desperation. It's almost as if his identity that was in question in the first place was being ripped away, and replaced with something else. He tries to get Knuckles attention but the giggles make him quick to second guess himself. He looks around the room in hopes of finding a new answer only to find the walls covered in something.

He uses his key chain flashlight to look, only to find the numbers “26 and 13” written over and over again. Some of them in crayon, some of them in ink, some of them in marker, some in something questionably stinky, and even a few in what appears to be blood. Mike starts breathing heavily as it seems that he has walked into a horror movie. He turns back to Knuckles who seemingly doesn't pay any attention to him at all.

Mike: Hey John. Are you ok?

Knuckles: Hehehehehehehe, 26.......

Mike: I-I-I, don't understand.

Knuckles: Hehehahahaha, 13.......

Mike: John, you can't live this way.

Ever since Christmas Chaos, Knuckles has been letting himself be taken away. Even before then, his control over his sanity has been....questionable at best but the newest loss to Jason Kash has been almost too much for him to bare. Knuckles finally stops glaring at the flames and looks up at Mike.

Knuckles: Did you know about 26 Mike? DID YOU!?

The tone in his voice send a shiver down Mikes spine. He wanted so badly to just turn tail and run but there was nobody else around to help Knuckles with his situation.

Mike: Um, no John. Who is this 26?

Knuckles: Don't be stupid Mike. 26 is just a number, but it has a lot of power to it; a lot of meaning.

Mike: Ok ok, it's just a number. So what IS the meaning of 26?

Knuckles: Every tag match, every singles match, any match that had us in it......

Mike: Who is us?

Knuckles: Do you not pay attention? Do you not do your damn job? I'm talking about Kash. That prick has beaten me 26 times over the past seven years now. How he's gotten the best of me this much is beyond me, but I........I HAVE to have it.....I NEED IT.

Mike: Need what?

Knuckles: And people call ME stupid? HEHEHEHAHAHA, I need him to suffer. I need him to pay. It's not enough to win, I have to beat him. Don't you see? Everything he has worked for, everything he has going for him would crumble at the very sight of my had being raised over him. Regardless of how many times he put my shoulders to the mat, it would just CRUSH his ego. It would strip him of any power he might think he has over me. He would be devastated. HAHAHAHA, he might even be tempted to commit suicide over losing to his most “favoritist” clown.

Mike: I doubt he would do that John but I think I see what you mean. Wouldn't it be better to just forget about it? I mean, Survive and Conquer is coming up and you ARE the only returning finalist this year. Not to mention that you have a match this week with William D. Williams. Wouldn't it be better to just......forget Kash for the moment and focus on them?

The word “forget” made Knuckles cock his head to the side and give Mike a nasty look. He grabs a chunk of his own hair and proceeds to rip it out. With anger in his eyes and violence on the brain, he ends up creating a small bald patch on the left side of his head. A Nervous Mike tries his hardest to try and talk him down.

Mike: WHOA! John, I didn't mean it like that. All I'm saying is that Kash can wait until after Survive and Conquer is all.

Knuckles: Maybe you're right Mike. And maybe pigs will fly out of my ass tonight while I sleep in this cold apartment.

Mike: This isn't you.

Knuckles: THEN WHO IS IT!? Am I supposed to be some loveable “character” that comes out to the cheers of millions? Am I supposed to be this guy who people beg for autographs from hmmm? All because of Kealey and this fucking lawsuit, I have NOTHING! No money, no recognition, NOTHING! I beat Chris Strike twice in a row and not a single person would so much as LOOK at me. And the once's that do, do you know what they see?

Mike: What?

Knuckles: A THIEF!! They don't respect me anymore. The blood I shed for this business, for them, all gone to shit because some jackass accuses me of stealing something that was never his in the first place. I AM JOHNATHAN SORRENTINO! THAT'S ME!! NOT HIM! I would rather them boo me but instead, people don't acknowledge my very existence. Do you have any idea what that's like Mike? Any idea of what I'm going through?

Mike: No John I can't. But sitting around and moping about it won't make things any better.

Knuckles: What do you suggest then?

Mike: Survive and Conquer.....

Knuckles: Perhaps. There's no guarantee though.

Mike: Then what about Williams?

Knuckles: What about him? The man spends his time on the real life set of Sanford and Son. Doesn't he have bathtubs to convert into small chapels for the virgin Mary and sell them? I could care less about some fresh fish in APW at the moment when I have more pressing matters to deal with.

Knuckles turns and glares at the flame bursting out of the barrel once again. Mike, who is at a loss for words, slowly begins to back away as Knuckles resumes mumbling to himself. He manages to slip out of the apartment leaving him all alone inside. Knuckles stands up off the floor and heads over to one of the walls and begins carving the numbers “26 and 13” using his very own finger nail; scraping off the pain.

Knuckles: HEHEHEHEHAHAHA!! I WILL have my time Jason. My road to redemption begins here........

Knuckles shadow grows on the wall as he continues to laugh maniacally. The flickering flame makes it as if his shadow has it's own presence, dancing on the walls. He sits back down and ponders his plans for Asylum against Williams as the scene fades.

Knuckles: For years, I have spent chasing a man with the simple goal of making his ego crumble at my feet. I fought countless matches in preparation. I have accomplished goals that most people, not even him, could have ever come close to think of. This is where you find yourself Williams. This is who will be across from you come Asylum. I am a man of desperation at this very moment, a man of evil thoughts and very bad intentions. You could consider me the measuring stick of this company, but until you put me down....you will have accomplished nothing.

Don't think I haven't noticed you on Meltdown. Your performances have been just like your personal life. Long, drawn out, and waiting for somebody to cancel it. It seems as though that everything you've done in your life has just been every Tyler Perry movie, every Eddie Murphy fat suit comedy all rolled up into one.


"HELLRRRR....."


This isn't Star Wars and you are not Lando Calrissian. Stop thinking that you are the hero and start seeing yourself for what you really are.......a traitor.

Not to “your people”, because I'm not racist like certain republicans in APW that still owe me $20. Not to our gender for losing to women, but you are a traitor to the sport itself. You have the nerve to call yourself a professional wrestler?

What makes you a traitor? The fact that you are unwilling to see your faults and failures. The fact that you refuse to understand the seriousness of your matches. You fail to learn from defeat. This isn't a job Billy D......this is a career. This is a lifestyle. If you want to live it with sun shines and rainbows, then take your ass to Overdrive where people who have no talent can prosper. This is Asylum, where only the violent survive.

It's guys like me who make Asylum what it is. This is why I'm the measuring stick. Never did I think you don't have any hope but you need to understand how things operate. It's not enough to push the violence, you have to be willing to take the hell it comes with as well. To take the hits that will surely be coming to you by yours truly. I've spent almost three years shaping and molding APW to be what it is and I take pride in it. Not only should you respect Asylum, you should be grateful it hasn't engulfed your soul. That will be my job Lando. It will be my responsibility to test the very core of what you bring to the table. To see if it is good enough to be in the nature of violence that IS Asylum.

No, this won't be a Spike Lee joint of a Martin Lawrence comedy. This will be a straight up, good old fashioned beat down. No gimmicks, no bullshit, just me spreading the violence all over your face. Consider it, “on the job training”. Just like I did for my old friend Branden Harvey back in the day. And although you can point out all of my short comings all day and night, it won't change the fact that in order to survive this jungle, you will need to toughen up.

This is my road to redemption Mr. Williams. Every sterotype you bring to this match won't help you from the amount of pain I'm going to cause. How do you fight a man who willing mutilates themselves to inflict damage? I guess you'll find out soon enough on Asylum. This is my road and you happen to be standing on it and in my way. After I go through you, I will push straight through to Survive and Conquer and I WILL be redeemed. You wouldn't know what that's like since you were too chickenshit to even sign up.

I hope you do your research on me Billy. I want you to see the hell I bring. The accomplishment, the feats I have over most. Look at how I was the ONLY finalist from Asylum, the only one of two from APW last year who will be returning this year. It wasn't Level One or Terry Marvin who made it to the finals, it was ME who eliminated Johnny Rebel and Sally Talfourd to make it; two of the BIGGEST NAMES on Asylum, in APW. So go ahead and pretend that you're ready to face the violence. Pretend that you can muster up enough courage to go head on against the likes of me. Come Sunday, this won't be a game of pretend or make believe........

This will be a violent reality.........my redemption.