Post by The Soul Of Philly on Jan 25, 2013 14:40:09 GMT -4
Thursday January 24th, 2013. 8PM GST
Friday January 25th, 2013. 3:28 PM GST
We open the scene inside of what looks like a hotel room, a very large, spacious hotel room. The door opens and in walks TJ who covered head to toe in clothing, protecting TJ from the cold outside. He comes in and throws his coat, hat and scarf onto the chair near the door and walks into the bedroom part of the room. He grabs his iPhone on the nightstand next to the bed off its charger and sees a text from Roger telling him to call.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ International minutes charge, here we come!
TJ dials up Roger and puts the call on speaker.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings YO!
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ RAJ!
Roger.“Raj”.Gings How’s jolly ol’ England treating ya?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I thought Philly was fucking cold.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings It is.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I swear England’s colder though, so what’s up?
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Wanted to check in witcha about Sunday.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Why? It’s gonna be tough, but I think I’m gonna walk out with the title still.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings No, not this Sunday, last Sunday. TJ, you beat Sally Talfourd.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Yea, so?
Roger.“Raj”.Gings TJ, YOU BEAT SALLY FUCKING TALFOURD! No, wait, you didn’t just beat her, YOU KNOCKED HER THE FUCK OUT!
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I’m missing the point.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Of course you are. TJ, you remember what I said to you about your own New Year’s Resolution? Doing thing for yourself, getting your name out there, well you did.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ By knocking out my own Pillar?
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Yes, can you or anyone name the last person that did that to Sally? No, you are in rarified air T.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I guess.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Seriously TJ, what’s up, you don’t sound too proud about that
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I am, but I feel bad, like, I’ve tried to talk to her about it but she just kinda ignores it and says it’s the past.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Well, she does have the Survive and Conquer match to prep for. You should take a page from her and stop thinking about what happen on Asylum and start thinking about your title defense.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Right, Williams. Speaking of him, did you guys get an email about putting his drink in my gym?
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Yea, I dunno how good that taste, I mean Ginseng is bitter and you’re putting in milk?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ We’ll have to think about it. We’ll have to talk to Harry about that, not drinks get sold in the gym without his approval
Roger.“Raj”.Gings You see him last week?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Who? Harry?
Roger.“Raj”.Gings No, Williams, he was talking about stable families and shit. He didn’t say it, but he was implying that you can’t succeed without a stable foundation from the home, from his parents.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ…
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Was talking about how his dad’s around and was bragging about it, suggesting he was better than Knuckles because Knuckle’s dad isn’t around him 24/7
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ….
Roger.“Raj”.Gings TJ.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Yup.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings You know what ya gotta do.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Yup.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Knock him the fuck out.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Yup. I’ll see ya Tuesday.
TJ hangs up and looks at the clock on his nightstand.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ He’s got no idea.
The scene fades to black as TJ gets up and heads into the bathroom to take a shower.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ International minutes charge, here we come!
TJ dials up Roger and puts the call on speaker.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings YO!
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ RAJ!
Roger.“Raj”.Gings How’s jolly ol’ England treating ya?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I thought Philly was fucking cold.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings It is.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I swear England’s colder though, so what’s up?
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Wanted to check in witcha about Sunday.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Why? It’s gonna be tough, but I think I’m gonna walk out with the title still.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings No, not this Sunday, last Sunday. TJ, you beat Sally Talfourd.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Yea, so?
Roger.“Raj”.Gings TJ, YOU BEAT SALLY FUCKING TALFOURD! No, wait, you didn’t just beat her, YOU KNOCKED HER THE FUCK OUT!
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I’m missing the point.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Of course you are. TJ, you remember what I said to you about your own New Year’s Resolution? Doing thing for yourself, getting your name out there, well you did.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ By knocking out my own Pillar?
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Yes, can you or anyone name the last person that did that to Sally? No, you are in rarified air T.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I guess.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Seriously TJ, what’s up, you don’t sound too proud about that
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I am, but I feel bad, like, I’ve tried to talk to her about it but she just kinda ignores it and says it’s the past.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Well, she does have the Survive and Conquer match to prep for. You should take a page from her and stop thinking about what happen on Asylum and start thinking about your title defense.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Right, Williams. Speaking of him, did you guys get an email about putting his drink in my gym?
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Yea, I dunno how good that taste, I mean Ginseng is bitter and you’re putting in milk?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ We’ll have to think about it. We’ll have to talk to Harry about that, not drinks get sold in the gym without his approval
Roger.“Raj”.Gings You see him last week?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Who? Harry?
Roger.“Raj”.Gings No, Williams, he was talking about stable families and shit. He didn’t say it, but he was implying that you can’t succeed without a stable foundation from the home, from his parents.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ…
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Was talking about how his dad’s around and was bragging about it, suggesting he was better than Knuckles because Knuckle’s dad isn’t around him 24/7
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ….
Roger.“Raj”.Gings TJ.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Yup.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings You know what ya gotta do.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Yup.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Knock him the fuck out.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Yup. I’ll see ya Tuesday.
TJ hangs up and looks at the clock on his nightstand.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ He’s got no idea.
The scene fades to black as TJ gets up and heads into the bathroom to take a shower.
Friday January 25th, 2013. 3:28 PM GST
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Soooo, apparently success is bred out of stable family relationships now?
We open the scene with TJ standing at Stonehenge while many tourist are taking picture of one of the world wonders. He’s got on a black snow hat, a heavy black winter coat, and jeans. He has the Tap Out Championship belt over his shoulder.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ That’s what William D Williams Jr would like to suggest to you, and normally, I don’t have a problem with when someone who comes from a good situation and makes their life even better, that’s what America is all about. Taking what you have, and making it better, but we all don’t come from good lives, we all don’t have the luxury. Some of us come from hardship, some from poverty, some from abusive families, some from empty families. Me? I come from the third hardship, but I don’t talk about it because that’s all it is: the past. It’s where I use to be. It’s where I came from; it’s not where I am or where I’m going.
The wind blows a good bit as TJ pauses.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ See, I came from a household where my mom was there but she didn’t really want to be there. She felt bad I guess because my dad would come in and out of my life until he fully left when I was nine. I didn’t have parents who were around because they wanted to be, I had one that HAD to be there and one who just flat out wasn’t. I, unlike you, didn’t have my mom and dad there to give me a proper support system for my life. I had to make one on my own. My brother, my sister, Roger and Trey, my childhood friends, they were the Pillars before the Pillars were a thought in the head of Sally Talfourd. At least they were for me. See, you make it sound like if you’re parents aren’t around, you’re gonna be a product of the environment you find yourself in. Guess, what I am the product of my environment. My distant mother, my nonexistent father, my neighborhood in Philly, it all created what you see here.
He looks over his shoulder to look at Stonehenge. He looks back at us.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Not that, but this. Me, a six foot, eleven inch, 275 pound man who is the Tap Out Champion. I didn’t have a problem with you before William, but now I do. I thought a man who is as well taught as you would be wise enough to choose your words more carefully, but you basically generalized everyone who didn’t grow up with your situation. Sure, that was directed at Knuckles and the way he handles himself, but you used him to paint us all with a broad brush that doesn’t fit, and I’m not gonna let you stand there at the canvas and continue to get your Rembrandt on.
TJ begins to move around to keep warm as the wind blows again.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ No, the same way that your Dying Breed leader, Anthony Bailey, won’t let Kash paint The Dying Breed as an all-black group, that’s he’s playing MLK for you, J-Hop, and at one time Krunk, I’m not gonna let you paint those without a stable home foundation as garbage, unsuccessful, or crazy people. See, sometimes greatness NEEDS that stable foundation, sometimes it needs to have a mom and dad there to keep them upright. But me and others, we don’t NEED that to keep up. We build our own foundations or we find natural foundations. Me and those others, we’re like Stonehenge. We don’t have any fancy foundation to keep us up right, but for years and years, we stand upright no matter what and it confuses everyone. And while they are trying to figure out why it stands, why we stand, we go about our life and do whatever greatness we were meant to do. My greatness is wrestling and this belt shows that I’m doing that greatness.
TJ stops moving around for a moment as the wind dies down.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ But on January 27th, this Sunday, I’m not fighting the words of William D Williams Jr., I’m fighting the man behind them, the man who has come into APW and took it by storm, the man who jumped from Meltdown to Asylum as quick as me, maybe even quicker. The man who gave Julius a fight almost as well as I did, that is my opponent at Survive and Conquer, not words, not a generalization, a man. A man who has put the work in to deserve this chance, this opportunity to take this title off me in my first defense. They say the first defense is the hardest. Being a champion is much more than winning the title off someone, much more than standing at the end of a long road for one man and taking him out because he’s tired out. That where the pressure comes from the first defense, to prove that you deserve to hold the title. See, I have just as much to prove as your William.
He looks at the Tap Out title on his shoulder and then readjusts it on his shoulder.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ See, I HAVE to prove that I deserve this title. That I didn’t just beat Julius because he was tired out by you, Yarmouth, and Saint. I have to prove that I didn’t just luck into the title because I won a coin flip. I have to prove that I am champion and not a chumpion. You know, when I say it out loud, it sounds like I have more to prove than you. You have to prove that you can hang around with the biggest dog of Asylum, you have to prove that you were deserving to have this chance, I have to beat you otherwise I never deserved the title.
The wind picks back up and TJ hops up and down a bit to keep warm.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ FUCK it’s cold. William, you’ve done a lot of things so far in APW, but almost all of it, I have already done. You made a quick jump from Meltdown to Asylum. Check. You’ve beat Yarmouth. Double check on that. You’ve given Julius one helluva fight. Check. I’m not trying to discredit you by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m making a point that what you have done isn’t trailblazing. But what you can say that I can’t is that you came in to APW as a rookie, never stepped in a ring before, and done all those things.
The wind dies down as TJ puts the belt on his other shoulder.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ You’ve got people thinking that you’re going places. You got people wondering how far will you go in your first year. You got people asking how soon you’ll be a champion. I’m among those people. I think you’re got the ability to go far. But among those same people, myself included, have wondered when will it end. Unlike those people, I know when it will, and it’s going to be this Sunday. You’re quite the wrestler, you’ve grown through osmosis. You’ve faced people and taken what they do and adjust it to fit you, which is what I wish a lot more wrestlers would do, but here’s the thing, none of that has prepared you for me.
TJ spreads his arms wide open, Creed-like into the wind.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Take a look at me William, and tell me you’ve faced someone like me, you can’t. And right, I’m gonna hear about how size isn’t everything, and I’m sure a couple girls have told you that, but the fact of the matter is size is the most important thing. Fighting me is like taking the SATs. No matter how many prep SATs you take, no matter how many weekend SAT classes you pay for, you will be taken off guard by the real thing. You can practice and prepare all you want, when you sit down and look at that booklet and all those questions, you get panicked. That’s what’s gonna happen when you step in the ring with me, you’re gonna look at me and go, “Oh man, this is the real deal.” You may respond positively to that, but in that moment, you will be questioning if you are ready for this.
TJ’s eyes widen and his face loses most of its emotion.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJThis is the face you’ll have William. I’ve seen this face a lot. William you’ve done a lot of good, but do not let those good things you’ve done fool you into thinking you’re ready to face me for the first time. You want some advice, come in thinking, “How am I going to beat him?” That’s a good start because you won’t have your game plan shattered in front of your face. I want you at your best, and having your game plan shattered will take you off your game and you won’t be at your best. The title may say “Tap Out” and you may think about trying to get me to tap out, but William, I’ve never done that and I plan on never doing it. Julius couldn’t do it and he spent his entire life during the fall trying to do that. The championship may say “Tap Out” but the rules include the word “Knockout” and that’s what you’re gotta prepare yourself for. Don’t prepare yourself by finding ways to get me to tap out. Don’t prepare yourself by working on your submission wrestling. Prepare yourself by building up your endurance for pain and punishment. In case you didn’t see it, I knocked out Sally Talfourd. A former world champion. KO’d her with the bottom of my boot.
The emotion returns to TJ’s face in the form of focus. TJ ignores the blast of wind.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ That’s what you need to prepare yourself for. You need to prepare yourself for a man born from a bad situation, a man born from a detached mother and an imaginary father. You need to prepare yourself for greatness in its truest form. You need to prepare yourself for “THE SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUULLLLLLLLLLLL OF PHILLY!” You need to prepare yourself for the most dangerous man in Action Pack Wrestling. You may be SMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTHHHHHHHHHHH but this is a rugged life and I hope you’ve prepared yourself for that.
TJ leaves to the right as the scene fades to black.
We open the scene with TJ standing at Stonehenge while many tourist are taking picture of one of the world wonders. He’s got on a black snow hat, a heavy black winter coat, and jeans. He has the Tap Out Championship belt over his shoulder.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ That’s what William D Williams Jr would like to suggest to you, and normally, I don’t have a problem with when someone who comes from a good situation and makes their life even better, that’s what America is all about. Taking what you have, and making it better, but we all don’t come from good lives, we all don’t have the luxury. Some of us come from hardship, some from poverty, some from abusive families, some from empty families. Me? I come from the third hardship, but I don’t talk about it because that’s all it is: the past. It’s where I use to be. It’s where I came from; it’s not where I am or where I’m going.
The wind blows a good bit as TJ pauses.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ See, I came from a household where my mom was there but she didn’t really want to be there. She felt bad I guess because my dad would come in and out of my life until he fully left when I was nine. I didn’t have parents who were around because they wanted to be, I had one that HAD to be there and one who just flat out wasn’t. I, unlike you, didn’t have my mom and dad there to give me a proper support system for my life. I had to make one on my own. My brother, my sister, Roger and Trey, my childhood friends, they were the Pillars before the Pillars were a thought in the head of Sally Talfourd. At least they were for me. See, you make it sound like if you’re parents aren’t around, you’re gonna be a product of the environment you find yourself in. Guess, what I am the product of my environment. My distant mother, my nonexistent father, my neighborhood in Philly, it all created what you see here.
He looks over his shoulder to look at Stonehenge. He looks back at us.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Not that, but this. Me, a six foot, eleven inch, 275 pound man who is the Tap Out Champion. I didn’t have a problem with you before William, but now I do. I thought a man who is as well taught as you would be wise enough to choose your words more carefully, but you basically generalized everyone who didn’t grow up with your situation. Sure, that was directed at Knuckles and the way he handles himself, but you used him to paint us all with a broad brush that doesn’t fit, and I’m not gonna let you stand there at the canvas and continue to get your Rembrandt on.
TJ begins to move around to keep warm as the wind blows again.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ No, the same way that your Dying Breed leader, Anthony Bailey, won’t let Kash paint The Dying Breed as an all-black group, that’s he’s playing MLK for you, J-Hop, and at one time Krunk, I’m not gonna let you paint those without a stable home foundation as garbage, unsuccessful, or crazy people. See, sometimes greatness NEEDS that stable foundation, sometimes it needs to have a mom and dad there to keep them upright. But me and others, we don’t NEED that to keep up. We build our own foundations or we find natural foundations. Me and those others, we’re like Stonehenge. We don’t have any fancy foundation to keep us up right, but for years and years, we stand upright no matter what and it confuses everyone. And while they are trying to figure out why it stands, why we stand, we go about our life and do whatever greatness we were meant to do. My greatness is wrestling and this belt shows that I’m doing that greatness.
TJ stops moving around for a moment as the wind dies down.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ But on January 27th, this Sunday, I’m not fighting the words of William D Williams Jr., I’m fighting the man behind them, the man who has come into APW and took it by storm, the man who jumped from Meltdown to Asylum as quick as me, maybe even quicker. The man who gave Julius a fight almost as well as I did, that is my opponent at Survive and Conquer, not words, not a generalization, a man. A man who has put the work in to deserve this chance, this opportunity to take this title off me in my first defense. They say the first defense is the hardest. Being a champion is much more than winning the title off someone, much more than standing at the end of a long road for one man and taking him out because he’s tired out. That where the pressure comes from the first defense, to prove that you deserve to hold the title. See, I have just as much to prove as your William.
He looks at the Tap Out title on his shoulder and then readjusts it on his shoulder.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ See, I HAVE to prove that I deserve this title. That I didn’t just beat Julius because he was tired out by you, Yarmouth, and Saint. I have to prove that I didn’t just luck into the title because I won a coin flip. I have to prove that I am champion and not a chumpion. You know, when I say it out loud, it sounds like I have more to prove than you. You have to prove that you can hang around with the biggest dog of Asylum, you have to prove that you were deserving to have this chance, I have to beat you otherwise I never deserved the title.
The wind picks back up and TJ hops up and down a bit to keep warm.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ FUCK it’s cold. William, you’ve done a lot of things so far in APW, but almost all of it, I have already done. You made a quick jump from Meltdown to Asylum. Check. You’ve beat Yarmouth. Double check on that. You’ve given Julius one helluva fight. Check. I’m not trying to discredit you by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m making a point that what you have done isn’t trailblazing. But what you can say that I can’t is that you came in to APW as a rookie, never stepped in a ring before, and done all those things.
The wind dies down as TJ puts the belt on his other shoulder.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ You’ve got people thinking that you’re going places. You got people wondering how far will you go in your first year. You got people asking how soon you’ll be a champion. I’m among those people. I think you’re got the ability to go far. But among those same people, myself included, have wondered when will it end. Unlike those people, I know when it will, and it’s going to be this Sunday. You’re quite the wrestler, you’ve grown through osmosis. You’ve faced people and taken what they do and adjust it to fit you, which is what I wish a lot more wrestlers would do, but here’s the thing, none of that has prepared you for me.
TJ spreads his arms wide open, Creed-like into the wind.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Take a look at me William, and tell me you’ve faced someone like me, you can’t. And right, I’m gonna hear about how size isn’t everything, and I’m sure a couple girls have told you that, but the fact of the matter is size is the most important thing. Fighting me is like taking the SATs. No matter how many prep SATs you take, no matter how many weekend SAT classes you pay for, you will be taken off guard by the real thing. You can practice and prepare all you want, when you sit down and look at that booklet and all those questions, you get panicked. That’s what’s gonna happen when you step in the ring with me, you’re gonna look at me and go, “Oh man, this is the real deal.” You may respond positively to that, but in that moment, you will be questioning if you are ready for this.
TJ’s eyes widen and his face loses most of its emotion.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJThis is the face you’ll have William. I’ve seen this face a lot. William you’ve done a lot of good, but do not let those good things you’ve done fool you into thinking you’re ready to face me for the first time. You want some advice, come in thinking, “How am I going to beat him?” That’s a good start because you won’t have your game plan shattered in front of your face. I want you at your best, and having your game plan shattered will take you off your game and you won’t be at your best. The title may say “Tap Out” and you may think about trying to get me to tap out, but William, I’ve never done that and I plan on never doing it. Julius couldn’t do it and he spent his entire life during the fall trying to do that. The championship may say “Tap Out” but the rules include the word “Knockout” and that’s what you’re gotta prepare yourself for. Don’t prepare yourself by finding ways to get me to tap out. Don’t prepare yourself by working on your submission wrestling. Prepare yourself by building up your endurance for pain and punishment. In case you didn’t see it, I knocked out Sally Talfourd. A former world champion. KO’d her with the bottom of my boot.
The emotion returns to TJ’s face in the form of focus. TJ ignores the blast of wind.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ That’s what you need to prepare yourself for. You need to prepare yourself for a man born from a bad situation, a man born from a detached mother and an imaginary father. You need to prepare yourself for greatness in its truest form. You need to prepare yourself for “THE SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUULLLLLLLLLLLL OF PHILLY!” You need to prepare yourself for the most dangerous man in Action Pack Wrestling. You may be SMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTHHHHHHHHHHH but this is a rugged life and I hope you’ve prepared yourself for that.
TJ leaves to the right as the scene fades to black.
