Post by SalTal on May 16, 2011 10:55:42 GMT -4
Mayhem, defined simply as violent or damaging disorder. In a word? Chaos. The funny thing is that that Mayhem is exactly what’s in store for APW if logic doesn’t prevail. Mayhem is what we can expect if things don’t go as expected. Mayhem is what we will see if everything that’s planned for doesn’t go to plan. That plan? Sally Talfourd defeats CJ Gates. If, in some bizarre situation, I don’t win and CJ Gates pulls out a victory? Mayhem ensues. Disorder ensues. Chaos. Chaos ensures. The world is turned upside down, nothing is as we expect it, and APW is thrown in to complete and utter chaos. APW will never be the same. APW never could be the same again. APW needs Sally Talfourd to be on her game at Mayhem because APW needs Sally Talfourd.
But then, Mayhem is only going to happen is Mayhem happens at Mayhem. That makes sense, right?
But we don’t have to worry about Mayhem happening. Because that’s only happening if a one CJ Gates wins. And everyone knows that’s not happening any time soon. I mean, CJ Gates? The guy who was still jerking curtains six months after he debuted? What was I doing six months after I debuted? Oh, that’s right: Winning the APW World Heavyweight Championship. Ok, so I’m not champion anymore, but that’s hardly important. Everything I worked towards could be done again. It’s not exactly hard for someone like me to go back and win that championship again, especially if the man who I beat for it once is champion again. And with all of that known, with all of my history and my achievements, CJ Gates think she stands a chance against me?
I’ll give you a hint CJ about what sort of chances you have, CJ: You have NO chance, my friend.
And it’s not just because you’re not as good as me, CJ. It’s not just because you can’t operate at the level I live in. It’s not just because you can only dream of the things I do every week. You stand no chance because, at the end of it all, you are nothing. You are nothing in APW. You are nothing to me. And sure, you’re something to the fans a the moment … but when I’m done with you, they’re going to turn on you faster than they ever turned on me. I know enough about you that, if I shared it, the fans would run away from you like you were nuclear waste. That’s ironic, because you really are a waste to them, they just don’t know it yet. But they will, sooner or later. They will find out what I know and then they will realise what you exactly are, CJ.
And what are you CJ?
Nothing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internet Explorer - *click* - Favorites - *click* - APW.com ...
Welcome to Action Packed Wrestling![/color]
Videos - *click* - Megastars - *click* - Sally Talfourd - *click* - Videos - *click*[/i]
Welcome to Happy Ending T.V.!
Recent - *click* - Episode #43: Today's Word: Nothing - *click*
Recorded the 12th of May, 2011. The first instalment of Sally’s pair of Mayhem episodes. It’s time for Sally to set her priorities straight and get into the mindset of a pay per view performer. And that means shopping, speed dating, and one night stands. Oh, and an adventure into the Australian Outback Yep, another great episode of Sally. Get a look into her mindset as she talks about CJ and her match with CJ and what she thinks about CJ.
Starring: Sally Talfourd, Shane the cameraman, many ‘guys’, and a surly waiter
*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 eventually fades out to a lovely shot of the Melbourne skyline. It’s actually more than what you’ve read. It’s probably more than what you know (and, really, who knows much about Melbourne unless you’ve been there?). The buildings stretching out that forms up this great city, the cultural capital of Australia. But that’s enough about how great the host city is. We can’t get attached to a colony of criminals! I’m surprised everything hasn’t been stolen yet! The camera turns around to find Sally Talfourd – APW wrestler extrodinaire – sitting at a nice little table with a quaint breakfast. She’s dressed ready for the day coming – a nice dressing with white stockings on, a white blouse with a cardigan thrown over to keep the coming Winter chill away. She munches on the corner of some toast (nothing on it, have to watch that figure), before chewing it down, a quick swallow, and then a smile to the camera.
[Sally] Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the greatest, and your most favourite, show on the web today. Happy Endings, coming to you from this great city … *Sally holds up the palm of her hand to read the name of the city she’s in …* Mel-bourne. And what a great place … ummm … *Checks the hand again* Mel-bourne is. I’ve been so eager to get back here that I could hardly wait. And it’s apt that Mayhem is being broadcast around the world from Mel-bourne because, well, isn’t that just what Australia is all about? Mayhem? I mean, it’s already down-under. It might as well be a place without order or rules or sanity. It’s, like, the opposite of everywhere else. So, while everywhere else is happy to live … happy, Australia is all about the Mayhem. And you’d believe that even more if you saw the women here. Puh-lease.
[Shane] That’s a bit unfair Sally. I’ve seen some very attractive women here on this tour.
[Sally] Shane, if you’re anything like your father you’d think any woman with a pulse pver tha age of 18 is attractive. And there’s no ceiling to that age limit either.
[Shane] Wait … are you saying my mother is ugly?
Sally rolls her eyes, then takes a sip from the fancy-looking tea cup, daintily lifting the gold rim of the cup to her lips. She thinks it too hot to take an actual drink from and lowers it back to the saucer. She looks back to the camera with an exasperated look.
[Sally] Shane, lets’ not talk about how ugly or not your mother is, there’s something much, much bigger to talk about. Something that’s been on everyone’s mind for a while. Something so important that it can’t wait another day.
[Shane] Your match with CJ?
[Sally] What? Of course not! I’m talking about the one thing that’s been missing since I came to APW. Now I’ve won titles and I’ve won awards and I’ve won … and lost … the hearts of millions. There’s just one thing been missing …
[Shane] Oh no.
[Sally] Yes Shane.
[Shane] Not again. Sally, this never goes well. Ever.
[Sally] Shane, I’m lonely. And I’m bored. And they say sex is the best exercise.
[Shane] Every time you go looking for a boyfriend, we end up in court Sally.
[Sally] It will be different this time Shane. I’m much more mature. And, really, I don’t care how it goes. You know, when I had to worry about those idiot fans I was always afraid of the whole ‘dating game’ because it could reflect poorly on me. Now though? Psh, I couldn’t care less what they think. So *Sally pats the corner of her mouth with a napkin* I’ve made arrangements for later tonight, I’m going to one of those ‘speed dating’ things. *Sally stands up from the table* It’s so exciting, Shane, to get back into it.
[Shane] Sally, I’m begging you. Let’s not do this. Maybe we could go mini-golfing?
[Sally] Shane, do to remember last time we went mini-golfing? You tried to ‘teach me’ and ended up groping me.
[Shane] You needed to turn your hips! You just … turned them too far for my hands.
[Sally] Ugh, you’re disgusting Shane. *She throws the napkin at him and the camera, which he dodges and then follows her back through the glass doors and into what is her quite organised hotel room. Give her a few days, it will be a sty* You better be ready. We have a busy day ahead.
[Shane] What are we doing?
[Sally] Are you ready to go out or not?
[Shane] Well, yeah, but …
[Sally] Right, let’s go.
Sally heads to the front door, pulls out her keycard from the slot that keeps the power on, and heads out. Shane follows after, but the camera fades out. How interesting can a walk to a cab be? Anyway, there’s a pause on a blank screen, and then we’re back with Sally, an armful of fancy bags with all sorts of boutique clothes in them. A girl has to dress fancy if she’s going to find ‘the one’ on a ‘speed dating’ circuit. She’s pulled down a pair of glasses now to hide herself away from the masses of fans who don’t actually seem to harass her anymore. But whatever, they would come if it wasn’t for those glasses! She walks towards Shane, and then the pair continue a further bit down the street to where there’s a café. If there’s one thing there is a lot of in Melbourne, it’s cafes. And, seeings how it’s midweek and not even lunch yet, there just happens to be a free table! Sally collapses into the chair, her bags falling to the ground (and nearly piling as high as her!). She lets out a tired sigh, then rests her head in her hands.
[Sally] Ugh, long day.
[Shane] Long d … it’s 10am Sally!
[Sally] Is that all? How much longer do I have to spend with you?
[Shane] Well, you could make the time fly by having fun?
Sally sits up with excitement!
[Sally] Tell me you bought your iPad and I can watch some YouTube videos of people falling down? Because that’s fun!
[Shane] I was thinking you could start on your promo against CJ Gates?
[Sally] I thought you said something fun? How on Earth is that fun? *Sally rolls her eyes as she falls back into her chair with a sigh* I guess you’re right, but where do I start with that trained monkey?
[Shane] Well, starting at the start is always a good idea, right?
[Sally] The start? The start of what? Of me? Of CJ? Of us?
[Shane] Where ever the start is, start there.
Sally sighs again. This time, it’s as if she is trying to start up the brain and go back to the start. The bad thing about being anywhere for a long time is that the start gets further and further away from you with each passing day.
[Sally] Let’s take everything back one year. Let’s go all the way back to Mayhem 2010. I had been here for, say, a month? Maybe even less. A few weeks, I know that much. And do you know what I was doing? I was chasing someone … well, something. I was after a woman who had got the upper-hand over me just weeks prior to coming to APW. I chased her here looking for one thing: Revenge. It drove me then, and one year later it’s driving me now. I came to APW with revenge on my mind, and I’m still being driven by it. You know why, CJ. You know exactly why I’m doing this, CJ. It’s no secret to you, though I expect you’ll deny it until the very end. And you’ll tell people I’m a liar and then you’ll cap it all off by asking why. You’ve floated a few theories over the past few weeks, and none of them have been close to right. You see CJ, there’s one reason that you’ve overlooked as to why I’m doing this to you. I mean, you know exactly why. But at the end of the day … what sort of person am I to make your life such a living Hell? Why would I get a kick out of doing this to you? Well, I’m happy to answer that question for you. I’m a bitch, CJ. I’m just a bitch who likes to ruin people’s lives. I look back and think how hard I had it in this business. I look back and remember each and every time I was treated like crap. I look back and imagine what my career would have been like if people hadn’t tried to stop me every time I achieved something. And you know what? I look around and I see how good some people have it. And it’s not because they are better in the ring, or better looking, or even better people. It’s because they are men. Men get it so easy in this business. Men like you – who aren’t even half the wrestler I am – just get free passes into the main events, into the title pictures, into the spotlights. Without even earning it! You just get what you want, when you want it, in a way that makes it impossible for you to have to work hard. People like you, CJ, get ahead without even knowing it. One day you’re jerking the curtain. The next? You’re suddenly in a title match, competing for one of the most prized possessions that APW has to offer. It’s deplorable how easy the men have it in this business. You just have to turn up to your match, stand over the guy, and hit him once or twice. No one pushes the men. No one challenges the men. No one expects the men to fight. This has always been a men’s business, and it’s built so that the likes of you are never ever considered to be second-rate.
Me? If I want to get ahead, what do I have to do? I have to step in the ring with Level-One. I have to fend off five other men to win my first title. I have to wrestle three men in one night to win my title shot. I have to prove myself each and every week against men if I want to get into the main event. I never get a rest. I never get an easy match. I never go in with any sort of strength of height or physical advantage other than endurance. And that endurance has been built up over years and years of having to cut down people like yourself. I have to put my precious body on the line every time I want to even be noticed! You? You just have to take a few hits. I have to risk it all if I want to get ahead. And that’s what sickens me about this business. It sickens me that while I have to try harder than anyone else, I don’t get any sort of compensation that matches the risk. I don’t get a reward that matches the fight. I don’t get the pay-off that matches the struggle! So I decided it was about time that you got a dose of my life. It was about time you got to walk a mile in my shoes. I figured you’d had enough of your easy-beat matches that now it was time to show you what a real career in wrestling is like. So I became the bitch that taught people like you the lesson you needed to learn. It helped that you gave me a reason to do it to you, but I’m sure you had it coming down the line soon anyway. If it wasn’t me, it would have been someone else. Because there’s only so long that you can fly under the radar. There’s only so long that you can get by with second-rate skills and third-rat matches. There’s only so long that you can avoid someone like me.
And now, your luck’s run out CJ. You’ve got me. You’ve got me in a match. You’ve got me for one night. And in any other setting, that would be an enticing opportunity. But not for you, I’m afraid. This isn’t ending well for you, and I can hardly see how this ends better than my last pay per view. I mean, a loss in the main event of Rasslemania is still better than winning a match against you on Mayhem, buried down the card. I guess they couldn’t trust you with a main event or a serious match, so they had to hide you in between matches a hope that I carry you away from embarrassment and towards acceptable. But whatever, you’ve still got a match with me, regardless of how poor you perform. Your luck in escaping people of talent, who can show you up, and who can wrestle rings around you has come to an end. It’s time to open wide and get a big dose of reality. A chance to understand what real wrestlers are like. What a five-star wrestler does. What a world champion calibre performer brings to the match. Because that’s part of the lesson of Mayhem for you, CJ: What it takes to be as good as me. What it takes to be better than you. What it takes to be respected in this business. Because that’s one thing I absolutely do not have for you: Respect. Not after … not after what you did, CJ.
[Waiter] Excuse me, can I take yer order?
Sally sits up, looks around nervously, then quickly looks back at the storefront. Ok, so they they sell coffee. Order a coffee, Sally! Quick, before they kick you out!
[Sally] I’ll, uhhh, have a coffee?
[Shane] Make it two.
[Waiter] Any kind?
[Sally] Ummm coffee … with milk?
[Waiter] Alright, two coffees. Whatever.
[Sally] That’s a bit rude, don’t you think?
[Shane] They don’t have to worry about tips. So, you know, whatever?
[Sally] You mean … we don’t need to tip!? I’ve been tipping this whole tour! *Sally shakes her head in frustration* Why doesn’t Jeff give us, like, a guidebook or something before we go to all these exotic places.
[Shane] Don’t freak out, Sally. Just focus. Focus … where were you?
[Sally] Where was I?
[Shane] I think you were talking about what you know about CJ. Actually, Sally, why are you doing this to CJ?
[Sally] Ah! *Sally leans forward, to the camera* The answer to the question on everyone’s mind – “Why, Sally?” – isn’t an easy one to answer. I mean, sure: There is a specific reason. But where’s the fun telling you all now? Where’s the pleasure in finding out before the match? Where’s the enjoyment of the big reveal if it’s happened before everything’s happening? No, there’s no fun in that. And that’s why I have a deal for you, CJ. A special one-time deal, because I’m feeling so generous today. It’s an added incentive for you to win the match. If you somehow win this match. If you somehow defy the odds and you silence the critics and you quiet the nay-sayers, and you win, I will make sure I keep your dirty little secret … dirty … little … and secret. I’ll hold off from ruining your squeaky-clean image. I’ll make sure that the fans still cheer you and everyone will keep on think you’re God’s gift to the wrestling world. *Sally breaks into a sinister smirk* But if I win … well, when I win? I want you and me in the ring the very next OverDrive. I want you in the centre of the ring … on your knees … begging for me to tell the world what I know. I want you down in front of me, looking up like the poor, lost puppy you are, begging for me to tell everyone my secret about you. That’s what I want. And that’s what I’m prepared to put on the line for you. It’s not much of a gamble. I mean, this is all predicated on the fact that you don’t trip over your own laces and knock yourself out on the steps before you even get to the ring. But let’s assume that you actually do make it into the match, then that’s what’s at stake, CJ. Not just a coveted win against Sally Talfourd – the most successful woman in APW – but the chance to silence me once and for all. Do let me know what you have to say, CJ. I’m sure you’re not much of a gambling man … well, you’re not much of a man anyway … but even this is an offer you couldn’t pass up, right?
The waiter is back with the two cups of coffee. He pretty much drops them down on the table, then turns off without even so much as an ‘enjoy’. How rude! Sally glares after the guy, then starts to stir in some sugar. Shane reaches into the shot and slides his coffee over to him. Sally takes a sip, then starts to stir in more sugar as she makes a face.
[Sally] We’re a long way from home, Toto. *Sally keeps on stirring that sugar in* Anyway, Shane, drink up. We need to get a little more shopping done, then get back to get ready, then do all sorts of mumbo jumbo.
The scene fades out as Sally brings her cup to her lips, taking another sip. Another face, and then we go to black. We have a hold, and then we’ve got voices before we have a picture.
[Sally] Shane, do you know how hard it is to find a date when you’re me?
The picture is back … and what a picture! Sally Talfourd dressed to the lines. A long, hugging black dress with a white neckline that goes down just deep enough to whet the appetite. Her hair is all done up, the make-up is subtle but alluring enough. She is the picture of a perfect date. She’s sitting in a booth with Shane, surveying the playing field before going out for the real thing. She sips on a colourful drink in a fancy glass – a typical woman’s drink.
[Sally] Either guys are too afraid to even come up to me, or you get douches like you see on Jersey Shore who think they are irresistible. I tell you what, if I wanted to date something that looked like any guiedo does, I’d date a bag of oranges. Please … *Sally lets out a long sigh* … Shane, it’s getting hard to find dates.
[Shane] So you’re really going on this ‘speed dating’ thing?
Sally stands up from the booth, glass in hand. She takes another sip (this one’s four courage) and continues to justify herself to Shane (as if she has to).
[Sally] Don’t say it like that! This is a serious thing. I’m looking for a serious partner. Someone who wants commitment, and a serious life, and wants to follow me around the world telling me how beautiful and great I am. I’m taking this very seriously. Dating is something you have to treat with respect. I’m not going here just to hook up with the first guy that comes along with brown eyes as big as the moon. I’m looking for a committed man.
[Shane] Oh, you’ll find that here from the looks of things: A lot of these guys should be committed …
[Sally] Enough! You just give me the new camera, and go enjoy the rest of your night by yourself!
Shane hands Sally a new, mini camera. One of those thin things that look like they are just a regular camera, but can capture all your dirty little secrets. She tests it out, has a look down the lens herself, then heads off from Shane. The scene quickly fades away form the camera that Shane has and to the camera that Sally has. It’s a little while later, as she’s now seated at a table, and she’s set the camera up well enough to get her table in from the side. Who cares if this is pretty much illegal. Before long, there’s the ringing of a bell, and the first gentleman comes and sits at Sally’s table.
[Sally] What’s your name?
[Guy] Bill. And you are?
[Sally] You don’t even know who I am? Ugh … NEXT!
Guy number one quickly scoots out of the chair and away from this woman. Sally rolls her eyes as she waits for the next suitor.
[Sally] Hi.
[Guy 2] Hi.
[Sally] Just one minute … NEXT!
There’s a quick shuffle of chairs, and Sally has a new guy sitting at the table.
[Sally] Sit.
[Guy 3] Yes ma’am.
[Sally] Ma’am? What, do I look like I’m 40?
[Guy 3] No no no …
[Sally] How old do I look?
[Guy 3] Uhhh … thirty … *Wide eyes from Sally!* … I mean, twenty … eight?
[Sally] NEXT!
This guy is smart enough to get away, and get away fast.
[Sally] Name?
[Guy 4] Rob.
[Sally] What do you do, Rob?
[Guy 4] I’m a photographer for magazines.
[Sally] I imagine you see a lot of beautiful women in a day.
[Guy 4] I do.
[Sally] Who is the most beautiful woman you’ve seen today?
[Guy 4] Hmmm, that’s difficult. There was a shoot this morning, and we had …
[Sally] I’m going to stop you there Bob …
[Guy 4] … it’s Rob …
[Sally] Whatever. The correct answer was ‘me’. I am the most beautiful woman you’ve seen today. Next!
There’s a fade between that last guy, Rob, and this new guy who is sitting down to his seat. Sally mills about with her napkin, not even looking up at the guy.
[Sally] Who are you?
[Guy 235] Pablo.
[Sally] Pablo, why are you here?
[Guy 235] I’m not really here. I just drove Rob, from earlier. I think you told him off or something?
[Sally] Was Rob the builder?
[Guy 235] Photographer.
[Sally] Oh yeah. He was a jerk. *Sally finally looks up at Pablo … into those giant, gorgeous, brown eyes* And … ummm … what are you here for Pablo?
[Pablo] I … I just told you?
[Sally] Oh! Right. You drove Bob …
[Pablo] … Rob …
[Sally] … whoever. So you’re not interested in, you know, women? Because I know this great guy. Pence Weatherlight. He works where I work and …
[Pablo] No no no. I mean, I’m not really looking for any sort of serious thing. Dating isn’t my sort of thing. This … *Pablo gestures to the room* is too much for me. Simple is best.
[Sally] Oh, yeah. Totally. I mean, I sort of got roped into this. I never really wanted to be here. I think I’m here with a friend too …
Hey! What happened to the ‘this is serious’ and ‘I’m looking for commitment’?
[Pablo] You think? You mean you don’t know if you came here …
[Sally] So Pablo! Tell me more about yourself?
Sally starts to play with her hair, all flirty like, before the scene starts to fade out. We have an extended pause, and then we’re back in a hotel hallway. There’s the unlocking of doors, and then we find a bit of action. It looks like Pablo is being pushed out the door. Why is he wearing the same clothes as last night? And why is he a mess? He turns back to the door to say something, but it is quickly shut in his face. He looks around, his jacket, shoes, a sock, and his belt all bundled under his arm. Shane ducks back around the corner, then sneaks back to watch as poor Pablo starts the long walk of shame. First stop: The elevator. Shane, however, is quick to rush to Sally’s door. He knocks quietly a few times, then waits patiently.
[Sally] I told you! I have an early start at the office today. You’re a nice guy, Pablo, but I just don’t …
[Shane] You don’t work in an office.
[Sally] Shane? *The door quickly opens up* Quick! Get in here before anyone sees you?
[Shane] Before anyone … or Pablo? Who I can assume is the man who just walked down the hall? *Sally pulls Shane into her room, then shuts the door. It’s a mess: Clothes everywhere (it’s all Sally’s mind you), empty champaign bottles and glasses, a bed that’s nearly lost all its sheets. Yep, it looks like there was something going on here last night …* So I take it your dating thing was successful?
[Sally] Oh, you know …
[Shane] No, I don’t. Please share!
[Sally] You perv! I’m not telling you anything! *Sally wanders around in her bathrobe, making sure to pick up all her unmentionables before they become to focus of attention for all the fans watching. It’s an often asked question what kind of panties Sally wears. But you’re not finding out today! Sally races around, then quickly surveys that place, and can live with the scene.* Why are you here, Shane?
[Shane] Because we never finished your promo yesterday.
[Sally] How much more do we have to do?
[Shane] Maybe an hour? Think of it as if you had to write 5,000 more words?
[Sally] Ugh, that’s going to take an effort. *Sally takes a seat on the end of the bed, takes a look around* And a change of setting. And clothes. *Sally stops, thinks* Hey, do you think you could hire a car?
[Shane] Yeah. Why?
[Sally] You go do that, then meet me downstairs in about an hour. I have an idea.
The scene fades out again (it seems segmented episodes are the way to go), and there’s a long pause before we’re back on what is a picturesque scene of a sun starting to set on the horizon. Out goes a stretch of land, a red desert, with only to occasional tree and bush. It looks like a rolling wasteland, except you know that a sunset is going to make it look a lot better. The camera zooms out and we find a jeep parked on the side of the road. Then in walks Sally Talfourd, dressed as if she were on a safari. She tilts here brimmed hat back as she looks to the camera and leans up on the front of the car.
[Sally] I thought we could take a trip out here, out to the fabled “outback” and lighten things up. You know, talking about CJ Gates could make someone want to jump off a tall building. But this way? This way we’re able to at least dress it all up. *Sally lets out a long sigh, starts playing with her fingers* CJ Gates. A man who is so out of my league that it’s like going from the World Series to Little League. Everyone recognises that it’s quite the difference, going from Lester Only to CJ Gates. And everyone wants to know why. “Why are you slumming it, Sally?” “Why are you dancing with CJ, Sally?” “Why are you concerned with what a mid-carder does, Sally?” It’s quite simple, really. I know that even the best of people can go bad. The squeaky clean hero of the masses can be evil when it comes to it. What is ‘it’? It’s that point that we all reach every now and then. That point that gives us a choice on what to do: Do we take the same old, tried and tested, good option? Or do we actually do what’s best for me? You know, some people call it being selfish. I call it being right. But you have to be truthful about it, because otherwise you’re just another hypocrite in a business filled with them. I know that CJ Gates looks as clean as they come. But I know something that no one else does. I know something about CJ Gates. I know something that each and every APW fan wants to know. And I know that CJ Gates is being the biggest hypocrite in APW. If I spilled what I knew … no one would look at CJ the same again. Not the boss, not the megastars, and certainly not the fans. Everyone wants to know, CJ.
That’s the thing, you know. They want to know, the fans, more than everyone else. At least CJ Gates has the fortitude to pretend to not care. But the fans? They can’t wait to find out. They’re buying the pay per view, they’re scrambling for tickets, they’re begging to know. Millions or people, CJ, are begging to know … except you. Why is that, CJ? Are you trying to prove something? That you’re better than me? That you’re better than every other megastar? Better than the fans? Because that’s what you’re saying with all this, CJ. Saying that you don’t care? Being the only one who says that? That’s just saying to me that you think you’re bigger and better than everyone else. And that … that is not something I can abide by. I can’t stand being told I’m less than what I am, CJ. But I really can’t take it when someone tells me they think they’re better than me … when they clearly aren’t! CJ, trust me when I say this: You are nothing compared to me. You’re nothing compared to what I bring to this business. To APW. To each and every match. You amount to what I used to be when I first started in this business. Seven years later? I’m better than you will be at the peak of your career. And the funny thing about that? I’ve got many, many more years left in me. I will go on from you, CJ, to achieve everything and anything I want. What you can only ever dream about? That will be my career! And it will be done off the backs of hacks like you who don’t know any better.
So I’m going to relish the opportunity to put you back in your place, CJ. Take you from bell-to-bell. Now I know I’m all about bragging and talking about how great I am, but I’ll be honest with you right now. I won’t pretend it’s going to be easy. You can put up a bit of a fight, I’ll give you that. I guess you learned thing or two from me after all these matches we’ve been in, and after studying me for so long. Just trying to figure out what it is that makes me … well, me. So you’ve managed to find a bit of gusto these past few weeks. But you’ve got not nearly enough to get the better of me in a match like this. Only one man has been able to do it, and you’re not anywhere near his … well … Level. You see, there’s something that the world knows about me. It’s one of those things that you can be certain about. Just like you know the sun will rise and gravity will pull you back to Earth, you can trust this: I am a great wrestler. In a match that is a measurement of how great a wrestler you are, you have absolutely no chance. It’s not like some crazy Asylum match where the complete and utter lack of rules gives any trained monkey a fighting chance. No, this match of ours is one that sorts out the wrestlers from the “entertainers”. The wrestlers win, the entertainers lose. And you, CJ, you will lose. Why?
Because you’re not a wrestler. You’re not an athlete. You’re not a professional. You are entertainment. You are nothing but someone you warms up the crowds for people like me. You come out, you do your think, you get some laughs, and you get people smiling. Oh sure, people boo me. They hate me. They loathe me. But one thing that is guaranteed: They will watch my match and love it. They might hate they I win, but they love each and every second of it. Why? Because it’s like watching a master at work. It’s like all those wannabe artists were given the opportunity to watch Da Vinci paint. Or all those wannabe rappers watching one of those … famous … rappers … write their songs? I don’t know what they do. But whatever, it’s like you’re watching one of the greats do what makes them great. They might hate me, CJ, but the fans know that they are watching one of the best in the business when they watch me. And no matter how much you dance and wave your arms and make people laugh and smile … they will always, always come back to my matches. They’ll hate me. They’ll boo me. They’ll cheer you. But they will watch every move. Every hold. And every one … two … three that I pin you for. And they will only cheer for you when you kick out because they want to see more! They want to see me take you apart for another half-hour. They want to see me twist and turn you until your face is a picture of pain. They want to see me put you through a Makeover again … and again … and again.
The picture runs through everyone’s minds, no doubt. The Makeover – maybe not the most deadly of finishers, but it’s one that ends a lot of matches. But that’s not what is Sally’s most deadly ‘weapon’. No no no, it’s something more nuanced. It’s when she picks you apart without you even noticing. It’s when we works over first you left, then your right leg. She does it without you even noticing so that when you go to hit that ‘big’ move, or you come to do something that should change the match, or you try to even stand up … you’ve got nothing at all. Of maybe she will pull apart your arms so that, as the match gets longer your hits get weaker … and weaker … and weaker. You can’t lift her as easily as you used to until you have no choice but to keep the match on the mat. And then you’re in Sally’s world. She’s used to not being able to use strength. She’s used to not being able being able to throw weight around. She’s used to having to actually wrestle to win. And when it turns into a mat game? It’s advantage Sally. Because eventually you’ll tire. Eventually you’ll slip up. And eventually you’ll let in an opening, and Sally will strike. She becomes your Chip on the Shoulder. She locks on the COTS and that? That’s her deadliest move. No one gets out of that. No one powers out. She locks you in and you’re tapping, it’s just a matter of time. That’s what is waiting for CJ. That’s what he can expect.
[Sally] So this match of ours is going to be one for all to see what happens when someone gets thrown into the lion’s den. Oh sure, the match will start off like you stand a chance. Like it’s an even contest. You’ll be able to throw your weight and your size and your strength around while you’re fresh and the match is young. But that’s when the clock starts ticking. Every second that goes by, you have to burn through more energy, more reserves, more fuel to keep your engine running hard enough to keep up with me. You see, I’m young. I’m nimble. I’m sprite. I can go faster than you for longer than you. I can go move for move and then leave you behind ten minutes later. It’s how I’ve amassed victory after victory after victory here in APW. And despite this not exactly being a secret, it’s a well-known fact that no one other than Lester bloody Only has managed to outlast me in a match. And he’s twice in a generation wrestler. I say twice because, well, you’ve all go me too! And last time I checked, I’m the only person here proven against the supposed benchmark of APW.
But where do you measure up against the standard that I set after I cut Lester Only down to size? Where do you stand up against everything I did for APW after I came here? Let’s take a look, shall we? You were a tag team champion until a team more pathetic … more woeful … more dysfunctional team than I’ve ever seen. So what does that say about the one thing you’ve done here? Despite Blade, despite having a sandbag for a partner, you still managed to be a complete and utter disgrace to what was formerly a respectable pair of titles. So what does that say about your only achievement in APW? It says that it stands for sweet nothing at all! Nadda. Zilch. Your title reign stands for nothing at all. The thing you hold dearest in your career here represents nothing. The thing you worked oh-so hard for is symbolic for nothing. It’s somewhat apt, because you mean nothing to APW. And you mean nothing to the only person of importance here: Me. You stand for nothing. You’ve achieved nothing. And you mean nothing. So measuring you against the benchmark? Yeah, you don’t even measure on the scale.
But you don’t want to hear about how bad you are, do you CJ? I know what you really want to know. I’m not telling you that until you’re begging it. But there’s something else I know. There’s one other thing that everyone wants to know. One other thing besides what CJ Gates has been up to. It’s a lot more serious. A lot more philosophical. A lot more … morbid. *Sally looks away, off to the horizon where the sun is setting, casting a red hue across this mystical Australian Outback* We all want to know what happens after we die, right? People are always asking the biggest question of all because … because … because we just have to know. Well … *Sally turns to look at the camera* … I know. I know exactly what happens. And this is something I am more than happy to share. Do you want to know? *Sally gives a moment for the audience to scream ‘Yes!’ at the screen* Are you prepared for it? Ok. Here it goes …
Sally turns around to lean up against the car. The panoramic scene behind her cuts a fine figure on her. The red sunset ends up casting into a purple sky. It really makes for an amazing site, one that absolutely everyone should see in their life. What was just a baron wasteland is now a marvellous and beautiful scene that looks like a painting come to life. Sally cross her arms over, then sucks all the enjoyment out of the scene to remind everyone of the seriousness of ‘it all’.
[Sally] What happens when you die? You’re forgotten. You disappear and everyone forgets about you. Oh sure, it doesn’t happen the next day after. People will cry, people will lament, people will speak fondly of you when they say goodbye. But in a few weeks, you’re nothing but a fuzzy memory at the back of the masses’ minds. Then a month or two, you’re nothing but a spectre of the brain, floating in and out of memory, but pretty much forgotten. Then, with enough time, you’re gone; both in body and memory. No one remembers you at all. That’s the secret for after death, people. That’s what you’ve all been wondering. And now you know.
But I’ve got another secret for you. One that CJ Gates might want to pay close attention to. Some people don’t need to die to be forgotten. Some people are so unremarkable, so immemerable, so forgettable that it’s as though they were never alive in the first place. Their life, and everything they have ever done, has been a complete waste of time. The time spent on the face of this planet would have been better spent not, well, being spent at all. These are the people that are forgotten like that. *Sally snaps her fingers* These are the people that are forgotten not just when they are dead, but when they literally step out of our eyesight. These people aren’t so good, so great, so masterful that you can’t forget them. But they aren’t even so bad that they are memorable for their awfulness and their patheticness. They are neither at the Sally Talfourd end of the scale or at the Branden Harvey end. They are, when everything is said and done, completely and utterly mediocre. Mediocre to the point that they are completely forgettable.
CJ Gates, this is you. You are neither great nor awful. You are so average that you are boring. And you are so boring that you are forgettable. And you are so forgettable that you are … you are nothing. Your career? Your achievements? Your recognition? Nothing. It’s all so immemerable that no one has remembered what you’ve done. What you’ve done to get here. What you’ve done to deserve this match with me. No one is going to remember that you were in this match with me. Don’t get me wrong, people will remember this match. They will remember Mayhem as being a great pay per view. They will remember that there was a little match that was pretty heated beforehand. And they will remember that Sally Talfourd wrestled yet another phenomenal match. They will remember Sally Talfourd put on a match that went down in the record books. They will remember Sally Talfourd did what Sally Talfourd always does.
But they will not remember how well you went, CJ.
And they won’t remember how you got into this match, CJ.
They won’t even remember your name, CJ.
And that’s the biggest difference between us, CJ. I’m a somebody in APW, in wrestling, in this world. You? You’re a nobody. And you’ve shown me nothing that tells me that that will change any time soon. You’ve shown me nothing that gives you any sort of right to take my place as the biggest megastar in APW. You’ve shown me nothing to remember you by. Yes, we have other differences, but when you add all of them up? You get this: I am it, and you are not. I’m everything you want to be and you’re everything I have rejected. *Sally turns around to turn her back to the camera with a wry grin* Yes, I rejected you and your ways. I rejected the fans because they rejected me for being too successful. I rejected all your goody-two-shoes because that doesn’t win matches. And I rejected a mediocre career because I want to be remembered as the best that APW ever saw. Level-One tried to destroy me, and he failed. One of the very best in this business tried, and he failed. Sure, he got the belt back off me, but I’m still here. I’m still standing. I’m still a master of the APW ring. He failed to destroy me … so what makes you think you can do any better a job than him? You don’t just thik you’re better than me … you think you’re better than him too! *Sally turns around with a glare* and you know just what I think of people who say they’re better than me. *Sally turns back to take in the scene* Next you’ll be saying you’re better than everyone who’s ever stepped into the ring. Well, sorry my friend, you only get to say that after you’ve won a single match against me and claimed that win over me as your own. That’s something you haven’t done yet, and something I’m not letting you do any time soon.
That’s the job of an APW megastar – of a true APW megastar. To not roll over and give up a win to anyone who crosses your path with a problem. To not give up against a person of lesser quality when you have to step in the ring with them. To not allow some half-rate entertainer to take over the spotlight and besmirch everything you’ve worked so hard for but forcing you out of the ring and trying to claim it as their own. The job of a true APW megastar, CJ, is to defeat people like you. You would ruin APW if you took my place in the spotlight. You would ruin the reputation I’ve helped build in APW. You would ruin everything I fought and struggled and battle to achieve here for the past year. I put my own blood and my own sweat and my own tears into APW, CJ. I put everything I had into it. And sure, it’s pretty much rejected me. But there’s no escaping that APW wouldn’t be half as successful if I wasn’t here. When I think about APW, I think about all the great things I have done for it. When I breath, APW breaths. When my heart beats, the heart of APW beats. And when I bleed, APW bleeds. I am everything APW should be, whether APW wants to acknowledge this or not. And if I cease to be the biggest name in APW, then APW ceases to be at all. I am APW’s life and blood and soul. APW needs me a Hell of a lot more than I need APW. APW needs me to be the biggest name it has because without it? Without it, they have … well, they have the likes of you. And I hardly have to explain why that’s a failure of the greatest proportions.
Because if we’re being honest with each other here, CJ, you know that everything I say is true. You know that when I say I’m the life of APW, there wouldn’t be an APW without me right now. You know that when I say you’re not half as good as me, you know know you’re not in my league. And you know that when I say you’re a nobody, that everyone could forget that you existed if you retired tomorrow from the wrestling world. You are a fool, CJ, but you’re not an idiot. You know the truth when you hear it. You know when you’re hearing a lie too. And you know you’re not hearing a lie now. *Sally turns around with a smile* You know, if I were talking to someone with even an iota of talent, I’d suggest they prove me wrong. I’d suggest that they come out to our match at Mayhem with a plan and an idea on how to beat me. I’d suggest going home, figuring out what you need to change to get better, and then just doing that. But you don’t have enough talent or enough drive or enough determination to, you know, adapt. You don’t have the skill or the mental strength to change yourself enough to get the better of me. You have nothing, CJ, because you are nothing.
Nothing CJ.
Nothing.
Sally looks at the camera one last time. She raises her eyebrows, lets out a bit of a laugh, and then walks out of frame. Shane moves just slightly enough to take in the sunset. Maybe his artistic integrity is coming through and is all symbolic. Symbolic of an end? And end to this feud? And end to CJ’s rapid rise through the ranks? Or maybe it’s a sunset of Sally? From the highest of highs, now she’s ta the lowest of lows? It’s not hard to see how Sally might be thinking that. It’s a bit of an adjustment she has to make, from being the number one person in a company to now having to prove herself again. And prove herself against the types of people she spent weeks and months proving herself against before! It’s probably no surprise that she’s gone on to target the man responsible for her downfall. The man who was there at the start. The man who continues to deny that he has anything to do with anyone, yet manages to dive into a challenge all about it without one second of hesitation.
Then again, maybe it’s not the end of either one of these people but both of them. Maybe this is the end of both Sally and CJ. From the fighting words of Sally, if she looks like she’s going down, she’s taking absolutely anyone she can get her hands on with her. And rightly so. People dragged her down week in and week out. They listened to Lester, then listened to the critics, and they listened to all those jealous wrestlers out there that wanted Sally out the ay so a lesser breed of quality could sneak through. Sally looks at the land now, and who does she see? Ryan Ruckus? CJ Gates? Terry Mavin? Who are these people. Who cares what they could do. Who cares what they’ve done – nothing they could possibly do could measure up to Sally Talfourd! And people need to start realising that Sally Talfourd is bigger than they are. She’s better than they are. She’s everything they wish they could be. People aspire – and never achieve – what Sally has done in her short time here. People will work their whole career to trying to get a title like the one Sally help, winning it from a person like Sally beat. And they will never get there. They will never be as accomplished or as skilled or as recognised as Sally is now. Sally is part of APW history. Sally is APW history. And now it’s time that the people here started to recognise this.
And if that means taking out CJ Gates … if that means making an example of CJ Gates … if that means destroying any future that CJ Gates might have had in APW, then so be it. He is hardly a loss. A fan favourite can be found around the corner. It’s the real wrestler, the true performers, the talented women in this business that are hard to find. APW has one … and continues to get disrespected time and time again. The fans don’t recognise the talent, the company doesn’t celebrate a great, and the wrestling industry doesn’t acknowledge just how great she is. That’s fine, because none of that means anything to Sally. But, you know, it just shows how ridiculous this business is. That a world champion like Sally could be thrown to the side, torn down by jealousy, and left to the wolves like she has been? It’s just an indictment of everything this business has become. So can you blame Sally for turning her back on it all? For speaking out? For going about things in a way that rewards her? Because no one’s about to reward her out of their own generosity! No, she can fight and scratch and struggle to get ahead, but the only person who’s looking out for Sally is Sally. You can’t trust a man or a woman or a dog these days. It’s every woman for themself. And now? Now Sally’s talking things into her own hands. She’s making sure that she gets what she deserves.
And if that means destroying the squeaky clean image of CJ Gates and revealing to the world just what kind of low-life he is? Then so be it.
So … yeah … a sunset. the sun has finally dipped down past the horizon and the twilight is starting to set in. There's a pause and then
"Sally Talfourd"
is handwritten across the screen, in purple. Before it fades out and the episode comes to a close.
But then, Mayhem is only going to happen is Mayhem happens at Mayhem. That makes sense, right?
But we don’t have to worry about Mayhem happening. Because that’s only happening if a one CJ Gates wins. And everyone knows that’s not happening any time soon. I mean, CJ Gates? The guy who was still jerking curtains six months after he debuted? What was I doing six months after I debuted? Oh, that’s right: Winning the APW World Heavyweight Championship. Ok, so I’m not champion anymore, but that’s hardly important. Everything I worked towards could be done again. It’s not exactly hard for someone like me to go back and win that championship again, especially if the man who I beat for it once is champion again. And with all of that known, with all of my history and my achievements, CJ Gates think she stands a chance against me?
I’ll give you a hint CJ about what sort of chances you have, CJ: You have NO chance, my friend.
And it’s not just because you’re not as good as me, CJ. It’s not just because you can’t operate at the level I live in. It’s not just because you can only dream of the things I do every week. You stand no chance because, at the end of it all, you are nothing. You are nothing in APW. You are nothing to me. And sure, you’re something to the fans a the moment … but when I’m done with you, they’re going to turn on you faster than they ever turned on me. I know enough about you that, if I shared it, the fans would run away from you like you were nuclear waste. That’s ironic, because you really are a waste to them, they just don’t know it yet. But they will, sooner or later. They will find out what I know and then they will realise what you exactly are, CJ.
And what are you CJ?
Nothing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internet Explorer - *click* - Favorites - *click* - APW.com ...
Welcome to Action Packed Wrestling![/color]
Videos - *click* - Megastars - *click* - Sally Talfourd - *click* - Videos - *click*[/i]
Welcome to Happy Ending T.V.!
Recent - *click* - Episode #43: Today's Word: Nothing - *click*
Recorded the 12th of May, 2011. The first instalment of Sally’s pair of Mayhem episodes. It’s time for Sally to set her priorities straight and get into the mindset of a pay per view performer. And that means shopping, speed dating, and one night stands. Oh, and an adventure into the Australian Outback Yep, another great episode of Sally. Get a look into her mindset as she talks about CJ and her match with CJ and what she thinks about CJ.
Starring: Sally Talfourd, Shane the cameraman, many ‘guys’, and a surly waiter
*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 eventually fades out to a lovely shot of the Melbourne skyline. It’s actually more than what you’ve read. It’s probably more than what you know (and, really, who knows much about Melbourne unless you’ve been there?). The buildings stretching out that forms up this great city, the cultural capital of Australia. But that’s enough about how great the host city is. We can’t get attached to a colony of criminals! I’m surprised everything hasn’t been stolen yet! The camera turns around to find Sally Talfourd – APW wrestler extrodinaire – sitting at a nice little table with a quaint breakfast. She’s dressed ready for the day coming – a nice dressing with white stockings on, a white blouse with a cardigan thrown over to keep the coming Winter chill away. She munches on the corner of some toast (nothing on it, have to watch that figure), before chewing it down, a quick swallow, and then a smile to the camera.
[Sally] Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the greatest, and your most favourite, show on the web today. Happy Endings, coming to you from this great city … *Sally holds up the palm of her hand to read the name of the city she’s in …* Mel-bourne. And what a great place … ummm … *Checks the hand again* Mel-bourne is. I’ve been so eager to get back here that I could hardly wait. And it’s apt that Mayhem is being broadcast around the world from Mel-bourne because, well, isn’t that just what Australia is all about? Mayhem? I mean, it’s already down-under. It might as well be a place without order or rules or sanity. It’s, like, the opposite of everywhere else. So, while everywhere else is happy to live … happy, Australia is all about the Mayhem. And you’d believe that even more if you saw the women here. Puh-lease.
[Shane] That’s a bit unfair Sally. I’ve seen some very attractive women here on this tour.
[Sally] Shane, if you’re anything like your father you’d think any woman with a pulse pver tha age of 18 is attractive. And there’s no ceiling to that age limit either.
[Shane] Wait … are you saying my mother is ugly?
Sally rolls her eyes, then takes a sip from the fancy-looking tea cup, daintily lifting the gold rim of the cup to her lips. She thinks it too hot to take an actual drink from and lowers it back to the saucer. She looks back to the camera with an exasperated look.
[Sally] Shane, lets’ not talk about how ugly or not your mother is, there’s something much, much bigger to talk about. Something that’s been on everyone’s mind for a while. Something so important that it can’t wait another day.
[Shane] Your match with CJ?
[Sally] What? Of course not! I’m talking about the one thing that’s been missing since I came to APW. Now I’ve won titles and I’ve won awards and I’ve won … and lost … the hearts of millions. There’s just one thing been missing …
[Shane] Oh no.
[Sally] Yes Shane.
[Shane] Not again. Sally, this never goes well. Ever.
[Sally] Shane, I’m lonely. And I’m bored. And they say sex is the best exercise.
[Shane] Every time you go looking for a boyfriend, we end up in court Sally.
[Sally] It will be different this time Shane. I’m much more mature. And, really, I don’t care how it goes. You know, when I had to worry about those idiot fans I was always afraid of the whole ‘dating game’ because it could reflect poorly on me. Now though? Psh, I couldn’t care less what they think. So *Sally pats the corner of her mouth with a napkin* I’ve made arrangements for later tonight, I’m going to one of those ‘speed dating’ things. *Sally stands up from the table* It’s so exciting, Shane, to get back into it.
[Shane] Sally, I’m begging you. Let’s not do this. Maybe we could go mini-golfing?
[Sally] Shane, do to remember last time we went mini-golfing? You tried to ‘teach me’ and ended up groping me.
[Shane] You needed to turn your hips! You just … turned them too far for my hands.
[Sally] Ugh, you’re disgusting Shane. *She throws the napkin at him and the camera, which he dodges and then follows her back through the glass doors and into what is her quite organised hotel room. Give her a few days, it will be a sty* You better be ready. We have a busy day ahead.
[Shane] What are we doing?
[Sally] Are you ready to go out or not?
[Shane] Well, yeah, but …
[Sally] Right, let’s go.
Sally heads to the front door, pulls out her keycard from the slot that keeps the power on, and heads out. Shane follows after, but the camera fades out. How interesting can a walk to a cab be? Anyway, there’s a pause on a blank screen, and then we’re back with Sally, an armful of fancy bags with all sorts of boutique clothes in them. A girl has to dress fancy if she’s going to find ‘the one’ on a ‘speed dating’ circuit. She’s pulled down a pair of glasses now to hide herself away from the masses of fans who don’t actually seem to harass her anymore. But whatever, they would come if it wasn’t for those glasses! She walks towards Shane, and then the pair continue a further bit down the street to where there’s a café. If there’s one thing there is a lot of in Melbourne, it’s cafes. And, seeings how it’s midweek and not even lunch yet, there just happens to be a free table! Sally collapses into the chair, her bags falling to the ground (and nearly piling as high as her!). She lets out a tired sigh, then rests her head in her hands.
[Sally] Ugh, long day.
[Shane] Long d … it’s 10am Sally!
[Sally] Is that all? How much longer do I have to spend with you?
[Shane] Well, you could make the time fly by having fun?
Sally sits up with excitement!
[Sally] Tell me you bought your iPad and I can watch some YouTube videos of people falling down? Because that’s fun!
[Shane] I was thinking you could start on your promo against CJ Gates?
[Sally] I thought you said something fun? How on Earth is that fun? *Sally rolls her eyes as she falls back into her chair with a sigh* I guess you’re right, but where do I start with that trained monkey?
[Shane] Well, starting at the start is always a good idea, right?
[Sally] The start? The start of what? Of me? Of CJ? Of us?
[Shane] Where ever the start is, start there.
Sally sighs again. This time, it’s as if she is trying to start up the brain and go back to the start. The bad thing about being anywhere for a long time is that the start gets further and further away from you with each passing day.
[Sally] Let’s take everything back one year. Let’s go all the way back to Mayhem 2010. I had been here for, say, a month? Maybe even less. A few weeks, I know that much. And do you know what I was doing? I was chasing someone … well, something. I was after a woman who had got the upper-hand over me just weeks prior to coming to APW. I chased her here looking for one thing: Revenge. It drove me then, and one year later it’s driving me now. I came to APW with revenge on my mind, and I’m still being driven by it. You know why, CJ. You know exactly why I’m doing this, CJ. It’s no secret to you, though I expect you’ll deny it until the very end. And you’ll tell people I’m a liar and then you’ll cap it all off by asking why. You’ve floated a few theories over the past few weeks, and none of them have been close to right. You see CJ, there’s one reason that you’ve overlooked as to why I’m doing this to you. I mean, you know exactly why. But at the end of the day … what sort of person am I to make your life such a living Hell? Why would I get a kick out of doing this to you? Well, I’m happy to answer that question for you. I’m a bitch, CJ. I’m just a bitch who likes to ruin people’s lives. I look back and think how hard I had it in this business. I look back and remember each and every time I was treated like crap. I look back and imagine what my career would have been like if people hadn’t tried to stop me every time I achieved something. And you know what? I look around and I see how good some people have it. And it’s not because they are better in the ring, or better looking, or even better people. It’s because they are men. Men get it so easy in this business. Men like you – who aren’t even half the wrestler I am – just get free passes into the main events, into the title pictures, into the spotlights. Without even earning it! You just get what you want, when you want it, in a way that makes it impossible for you to have to work hard. People like you, CJ, get ahead without even knowing it. One day you’re jerking the curtain. The next? You’re suddenly in a title match, competing for one of the most prized possessions that APW has to offer. It’s deplorable how easy the men have it in this business. You just have to turn up to your match, stand over the guy, and hit him once or twice. No one pushes the men. No one challenges the men. No one expects the men to fight. This has always been a men’s business, and it’s built so that the likes of you are never ever considered to be second-rate.
Me? If I want to get ahead, what do I have to do? I have to step in the ring with Level-One. I have to fend off five other men to win my first title. I have to wrestle three men in one night to win my title shot. I have to prove myself each and every week against men if I want to get into the main event. I never get a rest. I never get an easy match. I never go in with any sort of strength of height or physical advantage other than endurance. And that endurance has been built up over years and years of having to cut down people like yourself. I have to put my precious body on the line every time I want to even be noticed! You? You just have to take a few hits. I have to risk it all if I want to get ahead. And that’s what sickens me about this business. It sickens me that while I have to try harder than anyone else, I don’t get any sort of compensation that matches the risk. I don’t get a reward that matches the fight. I don’t get the pay-off that matches the struggle! So I decided it was about time that you got a dose of my life. It was about time you got to walk a mile in my shoes. I figured you’d had enough of your easy-beat matches that now it was time to show you what a real career in wrestling is like. So I became the bitch that taught people like you the lesson you needed to learn. It helped that you gave me a reason to do it to you, but I’m sure you had it coming down the line soon anyway. If it wasn’t me, it would have been someone else. Because there’s only so long that you can fly under the radar. There’s only so long that you can get by with second-rate skills and third-rat matches. There’s only so long that you can avoid someone like me.
And now, your luck’s run out CJ. You’ve got me. You’ve got me in a match. You’ve got me for one night. And in any other setting, that would be an enticing opportunity. But not for you, I’m afraid. This isn’t ending well for you, and I can hardly see how this ends better than my last pay per view. I mean, a loss in the main event of Rasslemania is still better than winning a match against you on Mayhem, buried down the card. I guess they couldn’t trust you with a main event or a serious match, so they had to hide you in between matches a hope that I carry you away from embarrassment and towards acceptable. But whatever, you’ve still got a match with me, regardless of how poor you perform. Your luck in escaping people of talent, who can show you up, and who can wrestle rings around you has come to an end. It’s time to open wide and get a big dose of reality. A chance to understand what real wrestlers are like. What a five-star wrestler does. What a world champion calibre performer brings to the match. Because that’s part of the lesson of Mayhem for you, CJ: What it takes to be as good as me. What it takes to be better than you. What it takes to be respected in this business. Because that’s one thing I absolutely do not have for you: Respect. Not after … not after what you did, CJ.
[Waiter] Excuse me, can I take yer order?
Sally sits up, looks around nervously, then quickly looks back at the storefront. Ok, so they they sell coffee. Order a coffee, Sally! Quick, before they kick you out!
[Sally] I’ll, uhhh, have a coffee?
[Shane] Make it two.
[Waiter] Any kind?
[Sally] Ummm coffee … with milk?
[Waiter] Alright, two coffees. Whatever.
[Sally] That’s a bit rude, don’t you think?
[Shane] They don’t have to worry about tips. So, you know, whatever?
[Sally] You mean … we don’t need to tip!? I’ve been tipping this whole tour! *Sally shakes her head in frustration* Why doesn’t Jeff give us, like, a guidebook or something before we go to all these exotic places.
[Shane] Don’t freak out, Sally. Just focus. Focus … where were you?
[Sally] Where was I?
[Shane] I think you were talking about what you know about CJ. Actually, Sally, why are you doing this to CJ?
[Sally] Ah! *Sally leans forward, to the camera* The answer to the question on everyone’s mind – “Why, Sally?” – isn’t an easy one to answer. I mean, sure: There is a specific reason. But where’s the fun telling you all now? Where’s the pleasure in finding out before the match? Where’s the enjoyment of the big reveal if it’s happened before everything’s happening? No, there’s no fun in that. And that’s why I have a deal for you, CJ. A special one-time deal, because I’m feeling so generous today. It’s an added incentive for you to win the match. If you somehow win this match. If you somehow defy the odds and you silence the critics and you quiet the nay-sayers, and you win, I will make sure I keep your dirty little secret … dirty … little … and secret. I’ll hold off from ruining your squeaky-clean image. I’ll make sure that the fans still cheer you and everyone will keep on think you’re God’s gift to the wrestling world. *Sally breaks into a sinister smirk* But if I win … well, when I win? I want you and me in the ring the very next OverDrive. I want you in the centre of the ring … on your knees … begging for me to tell the world what I know. I want you down in front of me, looking up like the poor, lost puppy you are, begging for me to tell everyone my secret about you. That’s what I want. And that’s what I’m prepared to put on the line for you. It’s not much of a gamble. I mean, this is all predicated on the fact that you don’t trip over your own laces and knock yourself out on the steps before you even get to the ring. But let’s assume that you actually do make it into the match, then that’s what’s at stake, CJ. Not just a coveted win against Sally Talfourd – the most successful woman in APW – but the chance to silence me once and for all. Do let me know what you have to say, CJ. I’m sure you’re not much of a gambling man … well, you’re not much of a man anyway … but even this is an offer you couldn’t pass up, right?
The waiter is back with the two cups of coffee. He pretty much drops them down on the table, then turns off without even so much as an ‘enjoy’. How rude! Sally glares after the guy, then starts to stir in some sugar. Shane reaches into the shot and slides his coffee over to him. Sally takes a sip, then starts to stir in more sugar as she makes a face.
[Sally] We’re a long way from home, Toto. *Sally keeps on stirring that sugar in* Anyway, Shane, drink up. We need to get a little more shopping done, then get back to get ready, then do all sorts of mumbo jumbo.
The scene fades out as Sally brings her cup to her lips, taking another sip. Another face, and then we go to black. We have a hold, and then we’ve got voices before we have a picture.
[Sally] Shane, do you know how hard it is to find a date when you’re me?
The picture is back … and what a picture! Sally Talfourd dressed to the lines. A long, hugging black dress with a white neckline that goes down just deep enough to whet the appetite. Her hair is all done up, the make-up is subtle but alluring enough. She is the picture of a perfect date. She’s sitting in a booth with Shane, surveying the playing field before going out for the real thing. She sips on a colourful drink in a fancy glass – a typical woman’s drink.
[Sally] Either guys are too afraid to even come up to me, or you get douches like you see on Jersey Shore who think they are irresistible. I tell you what, if I wanted to date something that looked like any guiedo does, I’d date a bag of oranges. Please … *Sally lets out a long sigh* … Shane, it’s getting hard to find dates.
[Shane] So you’re really going on this ‘speed dating’ thing?
Sally stands up from the booth, glass in hand. She takes another sip (this one’s four courage) and continues to justify herself to Shane (as if she has to).
[Sally] Don’t say it like that! This is a serious thing. I’m looking for a serious partner. Someone who wants commitment, and a serious life, and wants to follow me around the world telling me how beautiful and great I am. I’m taking this very seriously. Dating is something you have to treat with respect. I’m not going here just to hook up with the first guy that comes along with brown eyes as big as the moon. I’m looking for a committed man.
[Shane] Oh, you’ll find that here from the looks of things: A lot of these guys should be committed …
[Sally] Enough! You just give me the new camera, and go enjoy the rest of your night by yourself!
Shane hands Sally a new, mini camera. One of those thin things that look like they are just a regular camera, but can capture all your dirty little secrets. She tests it out, has a look down the lens herself, then heads off from Shane. The scene quickly fades away form the camera that Shane has and to the camera that Sally has. It’s a little while later, as she’s now seated at a table, and she’s set the camera up well enough to get her table in from the side. Who cares if this is pretty much illegal. Before long, there’s the ringing of a bell, and the first gentleman comes and sits at Sally’s table.
[Sally] What’s your name?
[Guy] Bill. And you are?
[Sally] You don’t even know who I am? Ugh … NEXT!
Guy number one quickly scoots out of the chair and away from this woman. Sally rolls her eyes as she waits for the next suitor.
[Sally] Hi.
[Guy 2] Hi.
[Sally] Just one minute … NEXT!
There’s a quick shuffle of chairs, and Sally has a new guy sitting at the table.
[Sally] Sit.
[Guy 3] Yes ma’am.
[Sally] Ma’am? What, do I look like I’m 40?
[Guy 3] No no no …
[Sally] How old do I look?
[Guy 3] Uhhh … thirty … *Wide eyes from Sally!* … I mean, twenty … eight?
[Sally] NEXT!
This guy is smart enough to get away, and get away fast.
[Sally] Name?
[Guy 4] Rob.
[Sally] What do you do, Rob?
[Guy 4] I’m a photographer for magazines.
[Sally] I imagine you see a lot of beautiful women in a day.
[Guy 4] I do.
[Sally] Who is the most beautiful woman you’ve seen today?
[Guy 4] Hmmm, that’s difficult. There was a shoot this morning, and we had …
[Sally] I’m going to stop you there Bob …
[Guy 4] … it’s Rob …
[Sally] Whatever. The correct answer was ‘me’. I am the most beautiful woman you’ve seen today. Next!
There’s a fade between that last guy, Rob, and this new guy who is sitting down to his seat. Sally mills about with her napkin, not even looking up at the guy.
[Sally] Who are you?
[Guy 235] Pablo.
[Sally] Pablo, why are you here?
[Guy 235] I’m not really here. I just drove Rob, from earlier. I think you told him off or something?
[Sally] Was Rob the builder?
[Guy 235] Photographer.
[Sally] Oh yeah. He was a jerk. *Sally finally looks up at Pablo … into those giant, gorgeous, brown eyes* And … ummm … what are you here for Pablo?
[Pablo] I … I just told you?
[Sally] Oh! Right. You drove Bob …
[Pablo] … Rob …
[Sally] … whoever. So you’re not interested in, you know, women? Because I know this great guy. Pence Weatherlight. He works where I work and …
[Pablo] No no no. I mean, I’m not really looking for any sort of serious thing. Dating isn’t my sort of thing. This … *Pablo gestures to the room* is too much for me. Simple is best.
[Sally] Oh, yeah. Totally. I mean, I sort of got roped into this. I never really wanted to be here. I think I’m here with a friend too …
Hey! What happened to the ‘this is serious’ and ‘I’m looking for commitment’?
[Pablo] You think? You mean you don’t know if you came here …
[Sally] So Pablo! Tell me more about yourself?
Sally starts to play with her hair, all flirty like, before the scene starts to fade out. We have an extended pause, and then we’re back in a hotel hallway. There’s the unlocking of doors, and then we find a bit of action. It looks like Pablo is being pushed out the door. Why is he wearing the same clothes as last night? And why is he a mess? He turns back to the door to say something, but it is quickly shut in his face. He looks around, his jacket, shoes, a sock, and his belt all bundled under his arm. Shane ducks back around the corner, then sneaks back to watch as poor Pablo starts the long walk of shame. First stop: The elevator. Shane, however, is quick to rush to Sally’s door. He knocks quietly a few times, then waits patiently.
[Sally] I told you! I have an early start at the office today. You’re a nice guy, Pablo, but I just don’t …
[Shane] You don’t work in an office.
[Sally] Shane? *The door quickly opens up* Quick! Get in here before anyone sees you?
[Shane] Before anyone … or Pablo? Who I can assume is the man who just walked down the hall? *Sally pulls Shane into her room, then shuts the door. It’s a mess: Clothes everywhere (it’s all Sally’s mind you), empty champaign bottles and glasses, a bed that’s nearly lost all its sheets. Yep, it looks like there was something going on here last night …* So I take it your dating thing was successful?
[Sally] Oh, you know …
[Shane] No, I don’t. Please share!
[Sally] You perv! I’m not telling you anything! *Sally wanders around in her bathrobe, making sure to pick up all her unmentionables before they become to focus of attention for all the fans watching. It’s an often asked question what kind of panties Sally wears. But you’re not finding out today! Sally races around, then quickly surveys that place, and can live with the scene.* Why are you here, Shane?
[Shane] Because we never finished your promo yesterday.
[Sally] How much more do we have to do?
[Shane] Maybe an hour? Think of it as if you had to write 5,000 more words?
[Sally] Ugh, that’s going to take an effort. *Sally takes a seat on the end of the bed, takes a look around* And a change of setting. And clothes. *Sally stops, thinks* Hey, do you think you could hire a car?
[Shane] Yeah. Why?
[Sally] You go do that, then meet me downstairs in about an hour. I have an idea.
The scene fades out again (it seems segmented episodes are the way to go), and there’s a long pause before we’re back on what is a picturesque scene of a sun starting to set on the horizon. Out goes a stretch of land, a red desert, with only to occasional tree and bush. It looks like a rolling wasteland, except you know that a sunset is going to make it look a lot better. The camera zooms out and we find a jeep parked on the side of the road. Then in walks Sally Talfourd, dressed as if she were on a safari. She tilts here brimmed hat back as she looks to the camera and leans up on the front of the car.
[Sally] I thought we could take a trip out here, out to the fabled “outback” and lighten things up. You know, talking about CJ Gates could make someone want to jump off a tall building. But this way? This way we’re able to at least dress it all up. *Sally lets out a long sigh, starts playing with her fingers* CJ Gates. A man who is so out of my league that it’s like going from the World Series to Little League. Everyone recognises that it’s quite the difference, going from Lester Only to CJ Gates. And everyone wants to know why. “Why are you slumming it, Sally?” “Why are you dancing with CJ, Sally?” “Why are you concerned with what a mid-carder does, Sally?” It’s quite simple, really. I know that even the best of people can go bad. The squeaky clean hero of the masses can be evil when it comes to it. What is ‘it’? It’s that point that we all reach every now and then. That point that gives us a choice on what to do: Do we take the same old, tried and tested, good option? Or do we actually do what’s best for me? You know, some people call it being selfish. I call it being right. But you have to be truthful about it, because otherwise you’re just another hypocrite in a business filled with them. I know that CJ Gates looks as clean as they come. But I know something that no one else does. I know something about CJ Gates. I know something that each and every APW fan wants to know. And I know that CJ Gates is being the biggest hypocrite in APW. If I spilled what I knew … no one would look at CJ the same again. Not the boss, not the megastars, and certainly not the fans. Everyone wants to know, CJ.
That’s the thing, you know. They want to know, the fans, more than everyone else. At least CJ Gates has the fortitude to pretend to not care. But the fans? They can’t wait to find out. They’re buying the pay per view, they’re scrambling for tickets, they’re begging to know. Millions or people, CJ, are begging to know … except you. Why is that, CJ? Are you trying to prove something? That you’re better than me? That you’re better than every other megastar? Better than the fans? Because that’s what you’re saying with all this, CJ. Saying that you don’t care? Being the only one who says that? That’s just saying to me that you think you’re bigger and better than everyone else. And that … that is not something I can abide by. I can’t stand being told I’m less than what I am, CJ. But I really can’t take it when someone tells me they think they’re better than me … when they clearly aren’t! CJ, trust me when I say this: You are nothing compared to me. You’re nothing compared to what I bring to this business. To APW. To each and every match. You amount to what I used to be when I first started in this business. Seven years later? I’m better than you will be at the peak of your career. And the funny thing about that? I’ve got many, many more years left in me. I will go on from you, CJ, to achieve everything and anything I want. What you can only ever dream about? That will be my career! And it will be done off the backs of hacks like you who don’t know any better.
So I’m going to relish the opportunity to put you back in your place, CJ. Take you from bell-to-bell. Now I know I’m all about bragging and talking about how great I am, but I’ll be honest with you right now. I won’t pretend it’s going to be easy. You can put up a bit of a fight, I’ll give you that. I guess you learned thing or two from me after all these matches we’ve been in, and after studying me for so long. Just trying to figure out what it is that makes me … well, me. So you’ve managed to find a bit of gusto these past few weeks. But you’ve got not nearly enough to get the better of me in a match like this. Only one man has been able to do it, and you’re not anywhere near his … well … Level. You see, there’s something that the world knows about me. It’s one of those things that you can be certain about. Just like you know the sun will rise and gravity will pull you back to Earth, you can trust this: I am a great wrestler. In a match that is a measurement of how great a wrestler you are, you have absolutely no chance. It’s not like some crazy Asylum match where the complete and utter lack of rules gives any trained monkey a fighting chance. No, this match of ours is one that sorts out the wrestlers from the “entertainers”. The wrestlers win, the entertainers lose. And you, CJ, you will lose. Why?
Because you’re not a wrestler. You’re not an athlete. You’re not a professional. You are entertainment. You are nothing but someone you warms up the crowds for people like me. You come out, you do your think, you get some laughs, and you get people smiling. Oh sure, people boo me. They hate me. They loathe me. But one thing that is guaranteed: They will watch my match and love it. They might hate they I win, but they love each and every second of it. Why? Because it’s like watching a master at work. It’s like all those wannabe artists were given the opportunity to watch Da Vinci paint. Or all those wannabe rappers watching one of those … famous … rappers … write their songs? I don’t know what they do. But whatever, it’s like you’re watching one of the greats do what makes them great. They might hate me, CJ, but the fans know that they are watching one of the best in the business when they watch me. And no matter how much you dance and wave your arms and make people laugh and smile … they will always, always come back to my matches. They’ll hate me. They’ll boo me. They’ll cheer you. But they will watch every move. Every hold. And every one … two … three that I pin you for. And they will only cheer for you when you kick out because they want to see more! They want to see me take you apart for another half-hour. They want to see me twist and turn you until your face is a picture of pain. They want to see me put you through a Makeover again … and again … and again.
The picture runs through everyone’s minds, no doubt. The Makeover – maybe not the most deadly of finishers, but it’s one that ends a lot of matches. But that’s not what is Sally’s most deadly ‘weapon’. No no no, it’s something more nuanced. It’s when she picks you apart without you even noticing. It’s when we works over first you left, then your right leg. She does it without you even noticing so that when you go to hit that ‘big’ move, or you come to do something that should change the match, or you try to even stand up … you’ve got nothing at all. Of maybe she will pull apart your arms so that, as the match gets longer your hits get weaker … and weaker … and weaker. You can’t lift her as easily as you used to until you have no choice but to keep the match on the mat. And then you’re in Sally’s world. She’s used to not being able to use strength. She’s used to not being able being able to throw weight around. She’s used to having to actually wrestle to win. And when it turns into a mat game? It’s advantage Sally. Because eventually you’ll tire. Eventually you’ll slip up. And eventually you’ll let in an opening, and Sally will strike. She becomes your Chip on the Shoulder. She locks on the COTS and that? That’s her deadliest move. No one gets out of that. No one powers out. She locks you in and you’re tapping, it’s just a matter of time. That’s what is waiting for CJ. That’s what he can expect.
[Sally] So this match of ours is going to be one for all to see what happens when someone gets thrown into the lion’s den. Oh sure, the match will start off like you stand a chance. Like it’s an even contest. You’ll be able to throw your weight and your size and your strength around while you’re fresh and the match is young. But that’s when the clock starts ticking. Every second that goes by, you have to burn through more energy, more reserves, more fuel to keep your engine running hard enough to keep up with me. You see, I’m young. I’m nimble. I’m sprite. I can go faster than you for longer than you. I can go move for move and then leave you behind ten minutes later. It’s how I’ve amassed victory after victory after victory here in APW. And despite this not exactly being a secret, it’s a well-known fact that no one other than Lester bloody Only has managed to outlast me in a match. And he’s twice in a generation wrestler. I say twice because, well, you’ve all go me too! And last time I checked, I’m the only person here proven against the supposed benchmark of APW.
But where do you measure up against the standard that I set after I cut Lester Only down to size? Where do you stand up against everything I did for APW after I came here? Let’s take a look, shall we? You were a tag team champion until a team more pathetic … more woeful … more dysfunctional team than I’ve ever seen. So what does that say about the one thing you’ve done here? Despite Blade, despite having a sandbag for a partner, you still managed to be a complete and utter disgrace to what was formerly a respectable pair of titles. So what does that say about your only achievement in APW? It says that it stands for sweet nothing at all! Nadda. Zilch. Your title reign stands for nothing at all. The thing you hold dearest in your career here represents nothing. The thing you worked oh-so hard for is symbolic for nothing. It’s somewhat apt, because you mean nothing to APW. And you mean nothing to the only person of importance here: Me. You stand for nothing. You’ve achieved nothing. And you mean nothing. So measuring you against the benchmark? Yeah, you don’t even measure on the scale.
But you don’t want to hear about how bad you are, do you CJ? I know what you really want to know. I’m not telling you that until you’re begging it. But there’s something else I know. There’s one other thing that everyone wants to know. One other thing besides what CJ Gates has been up to. It’s a lot more serious. A lot more philosophical. A lot more … morbid. *Sally looks away, off to the horizon where the sun is setting, casting a red hue across this mystical Australian Outback* We all want to know what happens after we die, right? People are always asking the biggest question of all because … because … because we just have to know. Well … *Sally turns to look at the camera* … I know. I know exactly what happens. And this is something I am more than happy to share. Do you want to know? *Sally gives a moment for the audience to scream ‘Yes!’ at the screen* Are you prepared for it? Ok. Here it goes …
Sally turns around to lean up against the car. The panoramic scene behind her cuts a fine figure on her. The red sunset ends up casting into a purple sky. It really makes for an amazing site, one that absolutely everyone should see in their life. What was just a baron wasteland is now a marvellous and beautiful scene that looks like a painting come to life. Sally cross her arms over, then sucks all the enjoyment out of the scene to remind everyone of the seriousness of ‘it all’.
[Sally] What happens when you die? You’re forgotten. You disappear and everyone forgets about you. Oh sure, it doesn’t happen the next day after. People will cry, people will lament, people will speak fondly of you when they say goodbye. But in a few weeks, you’re nothing but a fuzzy memory at the back of the masses’ minds. Then a month or two, you’re nothing but a spectre of the brain, floating in and out of memory, but pretty much forgotten. Then, with enough time, you’re gone; both in body and memory. No one remembers you at all. That’s the secret for after death, people. That’s what you’ve all been wondering. And now you know.
But I’ve got another secret for you. One that CJ Gates might want to pay close attention to. Some people don’t need to die to be forgotten. Some people are so unremarkable, so immemerable, so forgettable that it’s as though they were never alive in the first place. Their life, and everything they have ever done, has been a complete waste of time. The time spent on the face of this planet would have been better spent not, well, being spent at all. These are the people that are forgotten like that. *Sally snaps her fingers* These are the people that are forgotten not just when they are dead, but when they literally step out of our eyesight. These people aren’t so good, so great, so masterful that you can’t forget them. But they aren’t even so bad that they are memorable for their awfulness and their patheticness. They are neither at the Sally Talfourd end of the scale or at the Branden Harvey end. They are, when everything is said and done, completely and utterly mediocre. Mediocre to the point that they are completely forgettable.
CJ Gates, this is you. You are neither great nor awful. You are so average that you are boring. And you are so boring that you are forgettable. And you are so forgettable that you are … you are nothing. Your career? Your achievements? Your recognition? Nothing. It’s all so immemerable that no one has remembered what you’ve done. What you’ve done to get here. What you’ve done to deserve this match with me. No one is going to remember that you were in this match with me. Don’t get me wrong, people will remember this match. They will remember Mayhem as being a great pay per view. They will remember that there was a little match that was pretty heated beforehand. And they will remember that Sally Talfourd wrestled yet another phenomenal match. They will remember Sally Talfourd put on a match that went down in the record books. They will remember Sally Talfourd did what Sally Talfourd always does.
But they will not remember how well you went, CJ.
And they won’t remember how you got into this match, CJ.
They won’t even remember your name, CJ.
And that’s the biggest difference between us, CJ. I’m a somebody in APW, in wrestling, in this world. You? You’re a nobody. And you’ve shown me nothing that tells me that that will change any time soon. You’ve shown me nothing that gives you any sort of right to take my place as the biggest megastar in APW. You’ve shown me nothing to remember you by. Yes, we have other differences, but when you add all of them up? You get this: I am it, and you are not. I’m everything you want to be and you’re everything I have rejected. *Sally turns around to turn her back to the camera with a wry grin* Yes, I rejected you and your ways. I rejected the fans because they rejected me for being too successful. I rejected all your goody-two-shoes because that doesn’t win matches. And I rejected a mediocre career because I want to be remembered as the best that APW ever saw. Level-One tried to destroy me, and he failed. One of the very best in this business tried, and he failed. Sure, he got the belt back off me, but I’m still here. I’m still standing. I’m still a master of the APW ring. He failed to destroy me … so what makes you think you can do any better a job than him? You don’t just thik you’re better than me … you think you’re better than him too! *Sally turns around with a glare* and you know just what I think of people who say they’re better than me. *Sally turns back to take in the scene* Next you’ll be saying you’re better than everyone who’s ever stepped into the ring. Well, sorry my friend, you only get to say that after you’ve won a single match against me and claimed that win over me as your own. That’s something you haven’t done yet, and something I’m not letting you do any time soon.
That’s the job of an APW megastar – of a true APW megastar. To not roll over and give up a win to anyone who crosses your path with a problem. To not give up against a person of lesser quality when you have to step in the ring with them. To not allow some half-rate entertainer to take over the spotlight and besmirch everything you’ve worked so hard for but forcing you out of the ring and trying to claim it as their own. The job of a true APW megastar, CJ, is to defeat people like you. You would ruin APW if you took my place in the spotlight. You would ruin the reputation I’ve helped build in APW. You would ruin everything I fought and struggled and battle to achieve here for the past year. I put my own blood and my own sweat and my own tears into APW, CJ. I put everything I had into it. And sure, it’s pretty much rejected me. But there’s no escaping that APW wouldn’t be half as successful if I wasn’t here. When I think about APW, I think about all the great things I have done for it. When I breath, APW breaths. When my heart beats, the heart of APW beats. And when I bleed, APW bleeds. I am everything APW should be, whether APW wants to acknowledge this or not. And if I cease to be the biggest name in APW, then APW ceases to be at all. I am APW’s life and blood and soul. APW needs me a Hell of a lot more than I need APW. APW needs me to be the biggest name it has because without it? Without it, they have … well, they have the likes of you. And I hardly have to explain why that’s a failure of the greatest proportions.
Because if we’re being honest with each other here, CJ, you know that everything I say is true. You know that when I say I’m the life of APW, there wouldn’t be an APW without me right now. You know that when I say you’re not half as good as me, you know know you’re not in my league. And you know that when I say you’re a nobody, that everyone could forget that you existed if you retired tomorrow from the wrestling world. You are a fool, CJ, but you’re not an idiot. You know the truth when you hear it. You know when you’re hearing a lie too. And you know you’re not hearing a lie now. *Sally turns around with a smile* You know, if I were talking to someone with even an iota of talent, I’d suggest they prove me wrong. I’d suggest that they come out to our match at Mayhem with a plan and an idea on how to beat me. I’d suggest going home, figuring out what you need to change to get better, and then just doing that. But you don’t have enough talent or enough drive or enough determination to, you know, adapt. You don’t have the skill or the mental strength to change yourself enough to get the better of me. You have nothing, CJ, because you are nothing.
Nothing CJ.
Nothing.
Sally looks at the camera one last time. She raises her eyebrows, lets out a bit of a laugh, and then walks out of frame. Shane moves just slightly enough to take in the sunset. Maybe his artistic integrity is coming through and is all symbolic. Symbolic of an end? And end to this feud? And end to CJ’s rapid rise through the ranks? Or maybe it’s a sunset of Sally? From the highest of highs, now she’s ta the lowest of lows? It’s not hard to see how Sally might be thinking that. It’s a bit of an adjustment she has to make, from being the number one person in a company to now having to prove herself again. And prove herself against the types of people she spent weeks and months proving herself against before! It’s probably no surprise that she’s gone on to target the man responsible for her downfall. The man who was there at the start. The man who continues to deny that he has anything to do with anyone, yet manages to dive into a challenge all about it without one second of hesitation.
Then again, maybe it’s not the end of either one of these people but both of them. Maybe this is the end of both Sally and CJ. From the fighting words of Sally, if she looks like she’s going down, she’s taking absolutely anyone she can get her hands on with her. And rightly so. People dragged her down week in and week out. They listened to Lester, then listened to the critics, and they listened to all those jealous wrestlers out there that wanted Sally out the ay so a lesser breed of quality could sneak through. Sally looks at the land now, and who does she see? Ryan Ruckus? CJ Gates? Terry Mavin? Who are these people. Who cares what they could do. Who cares what they’ve done – nothing they could possibly do could measure up to Sally Talfourd! And people need to start realising that Sally Talfourd is bigger than they are. She’s better than they are. She’s everything they wish they could be. People aspire – and never achieve – what Sally has done in her short time here. People will work their whole career to trying to get a title like the one Sally help, winning it from a person like Sally beat. And they will never get there. They will never be as accomplished or as skilled or as recognised as Sally is now. Sally is part of APW history. Sally is APW history. And now it’s time that the people here started to recognise this.
And if that means taking out CJ Gates … if that means making an example of CJ Gates … if that means destroying any future that CJ Gates might have had in APW, then so be it. He is hardly a loss. A fan favourite can be found around the corner. It’s the real wrestler, the true performers, the talented women in this business that are hard to find. APW has one … and continues to get disrespected time and time again. The fans don’t recognise the talent, the company doesn’t celebrate a great, and the wrestling industry doesn’t acknowledge just how great she is. That’s fine, because none of that means anything to Sally. But, you know, it just shows how ridiculous this business is. That a world champion like Sally could be thrown to the side, torn down by jealousy, and left to the wolves like she has been? It’s just an indictment of everything this business has become. So can you blame Sally for turning her back on it all? For speaking out? For going about things in a way that rewards her? Because no one’s about to reward her out of their own generosity! No, she can fight and scratch and struggle to get ahead, but the only person who’s looking out for Sally is Sally. You can’t trust a man or a woman or a dog these days. It’s every woman for themself. And now? Now Sally’s talking things into her own hands. She’s making sure that she gets what she deserves.
And if that means destroying the squeaky clean image of CJ Gates and revealing to the world just what kind of low-life he is? Then so be it.
So … yeah … a sunset. the sun has finally dipped down past the horizon and the twilight is starting to set in. There's a pause and then
"Sally Talfourd"
is handwritten across the screen, in purple. Before it fades out and the episode comes to a close.
