Post by SalTal on Mar 23, 2012 22:30:34 GMT -4
What does APW mean to you?
Is that a loaded question or what. I mean, it’s just a company to some people. To some people APW is nothing more than the logo that appears on the top corner of their pay check. No more. No less. It’s not alive. It’s not a part of us. It’s not a piece of us. It’s just some company that exists on business model and budget papers.
To others, it’s a little bit more. It’s still a company, but it’s their company. It’s theirs because they put their efforts into it. They put their work into it. They put their everything into it. It’s a company, but it’s something they feel like they own a part of. They own a part because they have earned it; earned it by working hard and reaping the rewards.
And then to the few, to the select few, APW is more. Much, much more. They are a part of a living, thriving company and the company is part of their living, breathing body. APW lives because they live, and they live because APW exists. There’s life in APW, and they see it. They see it and want to protect it. Protect it from the people that only see it as a company. That want to use it. That want to destroy it. The people who live for APW get so much more out of being a part of it all. An experience that they cannot describe.
As Rasslemania draws nearer, anyone can look at the night’s run-down and see a stand-out match. Sally Talfourd versus Level-One. It’s not just a stand-out because of the calibre of competition. It’s a standout because it’s the clash of two extremes. On one hand you have me. Sally Talfourd. The defender of APW. The person who has fought all her time here to keep APW from being corrupted. From being destroyed. From being hurt.
On the other hand, you have Lester Only. The man who wants to destroy APW. Destroy it because it has moved on from him. Because it doesn’t need him. Because it’s starting to forget him. If he’s not the centre of attention, he’s going to be the destroyer of all this. Destroy all of our hard work. All of our efforts. All of our perseverance. Destroyed because he can’t accept the successes of others.
I’ve already waxed on about all that - about Lester’s disdain and my love for APW. You can see the last episode. What this is all about is the battle between two people. The battle for two people to make their vision come true. To say this is a personal battle is an understatement. Most wrestling matches are, to a degree, a personal battle. But this one? This is close to our hearts.
Will APW remain the thriving, living, premiere wrestling company in business today?
Or will it be destroyed by the hands that once helped to take it to great levels of success?
----------------------------------------------------------
Internet Explorer-*click*-Favorites-*click*-APW.com-*click*-Survive and Conquer-*click*-Sally Talfourd-*click*-Loading...
"Sally Talfourd presents ..."
is written across the screen, fades out, then
"In association with Action Packed Wrestling..."
is next to appear, holds, then fades out for
"A special Rasslemania presentation...”
which holds and fades to
"Happy Endings T.V."
Which fades away as well to a shot of thousands of people lining up. The line stretches for miles. Well, a few hundred metres. If you know what a metre is then you’ll have an idea. If you don’t, well, it’s just a really long line of people. They are all roped together, and everywhere along the other side (which is a building) is pinned a Rasslemania VIII poster. It’s not the Lucas Oil Stadium, but the building attached to it: The convention centre. Today, these last few days before the big show, APW is treating all their fans to a showing of sorts. An exhibition of sorts, showcasing the year leading up to the big night. While the fans wait though, the talent get to survey the thing. The scene fades away from the mass to the few, where some of the APW talent who are looking it through.
There are billboard posters hanging from the roof of some of the most renowned talents APW has. There are title belts behind glass displays. There are video monitors showing some of the best matches, the best moments, the best memories. It’s APW, and it’s one of the finest years they’ve had. All sorts of new talent have come in, and among them some of the biggest names in the business. Keaton Saint. Kurt Noble. Michael Harris. Terry Marvin has made his comeback, along with two of the hottest names APW has ever had: Level-One and Sally Talfourd. And speaking of, there she is! The indomitable, beautiful, insatiable Sally Talfourd. It’s her turn to go through it all, get her own view of it.
[Shane] Sally, enjoying the exhibition?
[Sally] It’s great, isn’t it!? I mean, the whole year, everything we have worked for, it’s all here. *Sally opens up her arms as if you invite everyone to look around* APW at its finest.
[Shane] Do you feature here?
[Sally] Oh yeah, here and there. Over there at the Undisputed belt, they say that my loss at Rasslemania VII started off all the events with Lester, which led to Biggs, which led to CJ, which led to...well, where we are now. And over there...*Sally points to the Tag Team titles*...there’s a mention of me and Havok over there.
[Shane] That’s it? Mentions about titles you didn’t win?
[Sally] Well, I get a good write-up on the Survive and Conquer panel. I managed a sixth place or something. I’m still not sure where we’re at with the Knuckles situation. But yeah, I guess I’m not such a big feature in here. But, at the same time, neither is Lester really. And we’re in maybe the most anticipated match of the night. Ceratinly the most anticipated that doesn’t include a belt. But that just goes to figure: You don’t need to be fighting over a belt to be fighting for something important.
[Shane] APW?
[Sally] APW. Everything I said before. The last few days. Each time I bumped into one of those guys - Noble, Gates, Biggs, Saint. Each time I saw them, I knew that I was fighting for something bigger than a belt. It was APW. But there’s no fun in going over all that again, is there? You’ve all go two ears, so you’ve already heard it twice.
Sally winks and with that remark, Sally looks around. Sure, she might not have been here for the full year. She might not have been in the title pictures. But she sure as heck has been a part of APW since 2012 dawned. And in a big way. Sally continues to walk around, looking over some of the pictures that adorn the walls. As she passes to look all those pictures over, it’s almost like she can hear them talk. All week she’s been talking about what APW means to her. How important APW is and how it’s worth fighting tooth-and-nail for. Now? Now it’s almost as if she can hear what the rest of APW thinks of this company she’s fight for as she passes each friendly face by.
[Shane] What does going through all this make you think, Sally? What’s it making you feel?
[Sally] It’s strange, you know. It’s making me feel old! I’ve been here for, like, way less time than some others. But I feel like I’ve been here for a long time. Each day was three. Each year was three. I feel like I should be on display! *Sally looks around, then gets a little more serious* So when I say this is all personal between Lester and I, when I say that it’s for the heart and soul of APW, it should be obvious that it’s about things bigger than belts and titles and things that are shiny. It’s about things you can’t see, things you can only dream about. APW being the biggest company in the business? That was Jeff’s dream and now he sees it. It would be Lester’s dream if he could end APW. ANd it would be my dream to stop that. Lester’s dream is my nightmare, and all I can do is try and stop it.
Sally passes by a poster of Jeff looking all smart and flash for a press conference. He looks every part a president of a company, as well as a man who is living his dream.
[Sally] But when it comes to the match - our match - it’s not about the glitz and glamour this time. Last year might have been like that, Lester, but this year it’s different. It’s not about titles or awards. It’s about something much, much more important to each of us. Everyone watching is excited just to see us go toe-to-toe again, but think nothing of the stakes. At the very best, they see it as a chance for me to even the score against you. But you? Me? We both know that we’re fighting over something far more important than that. Far more important that any title.
We’re fighting for our legacies, aren’t we Lester? We’re done. We’re not APW anymore. Oh sure, we’re still wrestling for APW. We’re still working for APW. We still come back to APW when we get the itch. But we’re not the heart and soul of the company anymore. Let’s face it, Lester. We’re past our peaks. Yours was four, five years ago. Mine was two, three years ago. And neither of us are who we once were.
Sally continues to move around the exhibition. Photos passing her by. Photos of the up-and-coming APW-ers who are about to take the world by storm.
There’s a match on loop from the March 1st show of OverDrive. It’s not a ‘big name’ match by any throw. But it’s one hell of a spectacle: Johnny Rebel versus Chris Hart. Sally stops to look at it for the second time (because she was there to watch it that night).
While she’s watching the match happen, he keeps on talking to Shane, who has to move around to get her on the camera, peering at her over the screen. She continues with a grin, a cheeky grin, still talking to her old foe Lester Only as if he were there.
[Sally] Oh sure, we’re still better than 95% of the kids that run around our rings. Who put hands on titles that we made. But when it comes to what APW stands for, it’s not us anymore. It’s not about legacies and the history. It’s about the future and the young-guns that are making this business exciting again. And that leaves us outside of it all. In a sense, we don’t belong in the title matches, in the main events, headlining the pay-per-views like we used to. These new megastars belong there. They deserve it. They earn it every night. They’re doing what we used to do, Lester. They’re going out and working hard. Putting on great matches. Giving the audiences what they want. Exactly what they want. Us? We’re on the outside. They’re doing that...so where does that leave us?
It leaves us right where we are, Lester. Staring down the barrel of our legacies. I don’t now how many years we’ve both go in this business still. Maybe a handful, who knows how long we’ll keep at it. But we won’t ever be the megastars we were. People know us too well. The fans? The wrestlers? We’re more than a known entity now. We’re...dare I say it...familiar. People still love our matches. People still tune in to see us speak. People still scream our names. But...we’ve lost that x-factor. People have seen so much of us that they know exactly what to expect. You know it, Lester. You know it better than me.
Sally gives a strange look to Shane and the camera. Not quite depressed, but not exactly ecstatic. It’s almost like coming to terms with your mortality. When you realise you’re going to die and there’s nothing to do about it at all. But this is, like, career mortality. When you realise that you’re not going to get better. You’re the best you can be, and that’s it. You’re still great, but you just can’t get greater.
[Sally] So here we are. The place we end up. Really, the only place we could end up. A year ago, we were fighting for the biggest and best prize in APW, in the biggest match of the year, on the biggest stage that the company has. Now? Now the title has moved on. Our match is down the card. And while we’re on the same stage, we’re standing on the same level as the rest of the new, big names. Nothing is like last year. We’re not irrelevant to APW...just less relevant.
That’s not such a bad thing, is it? APW grows, moves on, gets better. It has to leave some people behind. Sally and Lester took the company as far as they could; it’s only logical that the company leaves them as it gets taken in newer, better directions with the newer and better talent. There’s nothing wrong with that. Not at all. But putting in all that work, Sally’s not much for one to let that get destroyed. Her work got APW to a place where it could excel. Now it’s time for APW to get better and bigger than she could help it as it stood last year.
[Sally] But, to you and me, Lester, that doesn’t make this match anything less than the most important tonight. In fact, our die-hard fans already know just how much more important what we’re fighting over is than the titles that might be changing hands at Rasslemania. I know that you do, because I know how important the match is. Legacies are what we’ve been fighting for since day one. It’s why we did anything at all. Our legacy is how we’re remembered. We want to be remembered for the wins, the titles, the awards. We want to be remembered for them because they are the measure of success. And for anyone else in this business, that would be enough. A handful of titles, a few nothing awards, and a ten-match winning streak. That’s all some people ever get remembered for, and that’s good enough for them.
But not for me.
And not for you.
We want to be remembered for more. Much more. Remembered as being the best that APW ever had. And, between you and me, it’s bound to be one of us. In between the matches that we’ve fought are both our legacies. That we were unmatchable, only able to me bested by each other. No one else could get near us when it came to our best. But, like everyone in this business, there is always one who is just that much better than the other. One of us has to be better than the other. And, as much as I might hate it right now - you’ve got that title at the moment. You look at our record and it’s 3-2 your way. One-on-one, and you’ve got the upper-hand.
[/color]
That’s what this match is all about for me. It’s about setting the only record that I regret straight. It’s about finally setting my legacy in stone. That you weren’t ‘the one’ who always had it over me. That you weren’t ‘the one’ who got away. My legacy is going to be that I was the best that APW had. And that means setting our record straight. It means preserving APW so that there is a legacy for everyone to see. It means making sure you don’t destroy this company and rewrite the bits of history that you don’t like. Do I have a few selfish reasons to beat you? Of course. That’s just normal. When you’re fighting for something so important, you have to be fighting for a bit of yourself. And my legacy is as tied in to this as yours. If APW succeeds, I succeed. If APW fails, you fail. That’s the simple equation here. I have more to fight for here. So much more. Everyone has their own personal reasons for being here, and I’m no different. But unlike you, Lester, and unlike a few others here, I care about APW. And that means my reasons for fight are APW’s reasons. My legacy is attached to APW’s. So I fight for APW, and not for myself.
Sally turns back to the camera one last time, knowing that the crowds are about to fill this place like kids in a candy store.
[Sally] And despite everything you’ve said about me, over the past year and the past week, you’ve always known I’ve respected you for your skill. For your talent. For your abilities. I don’t respect your motives, obviously, but I do respect the things you can do in the ring. And sure, those things need recognition. But after what you’ve done to me last week, and what you’re trying to do to APW, you don’t deserve a Rasslemania win. Not this time. Beating me last year, you earned that. That win was deserved because you fought hard and you fought better. This year? You’ve attacked me like I was some dog! All because I was smarter! You get titles for being smarter. You get awards for being smarter. You get legacies worth remembering for being smarter! And, yes, you get Rasslemania wins for being smarter. You were smarter last year. This year? Getting out of the Sindicate? Getting that briefcase? That was the smarter thing o do. Now you’re having a cry because someone was smarter than you. Between the two of us, this year, I’ve been the better.
I’ve been the better one of us, Lester, and you know it. That’s why you’ve arranged for this match. You’ve attacked me. You’ve lied and deceived and tricked me. You’ve been the worst of us, and I’ve been the best. I’ve out-moved you leading up to this, and I’ll do it all over again at our special match. It might be in a steel cage. but that just gives me a better chance at winning. A cage has no friends. A cage has no enemies. It’s just a weapon that surrounds us all. And when you’re trying to drag your sorry, bloated, exhausted ass over the top...I’ll spring up after having grounded you down, I’ll race to the top after having worn you out, and I’ll climb over having kicked and wrestled and beat you into submission. You’ll be hard-pressed to even stand up after going for a whole match against me. I’m better when I’m cornered, and there’s four corners in this cage. I’m fighting for the good things because I’m better. I’m fighting for APW because I’m better. I’m fighting for my legacy because I’m better. Better than you. What on Earth are you fighting for? For nothing! For yourself! I’m fighting for this company *Sally gestures to the exhibition, to APW all around her* and you’re fighting to destroy it. I’m fighting so that this company stays as something and you’re fighting to turn it into...nothing.
[Voice over the PA] APW talent, please head to the staff exits as the fans are about to enter.
Sally takes advice from the voice and gestures for Shane to follow. She heads out, passing the exhibition in a blur. Those last bits that she missed - the Year End Awards, some of the memorable memorabilia all cased away.
The scene fades out as Sally heads through the staff doors. On the blank screen, the cheers and screams of the fans rushing into the exhibition can be heard. A reminder about what this business is all about. That without the fans - the fans Sally loves and the fans that Lester hates - there’s not going to be an APW. Sally’s fight for APW isn’t just for her. It isn’t just for the talent that she’s been hearing. It’s for all those fans that will be watching this clash of wrestling giants. Eventually the scene fades back in on Sally Talfourd in match gear. She’s done up, all the make-up, the ribbons in her hair, the costume. Looking the part and ready to go. There’s a low roar from the crowd filling every corner of the locker room that we find Sally in. She smiles, then walks over to the door to close it so that she can be heard.
[Shane] Show night?
[Sally] Show night. Biggest night of the year. Biggest match of the year. Maybe even of my career.
[Shane] Any last thoughts? Regrets?
[Sally] Regrets? Well, you can always use one more day of training, right? One more hour on the machines. Another few minutes in the ring. I’m not perfect, and neither is Lester. The difference is that I know it and try to improve myself. He doesn’t accept it and rests on his reputation. I’m always fighting to better myself. Better my reputation. Better my place in APW. Lester? He thinks he’s entitled to everything because he did something last year. Yes, he did great things in the past, but he hasn’t done anything great recently. He’s been the lowest of lows of late. Fraternising with the Sindicate. Attacking me. Trying to destroy APW. He’s done nothing to deserve the recognition of a legend. What legends do what he does?
[Shane] And you? Are you a legend?
[Sally] Me? No. Maybe. I don’t know. People know who I am here, but I don’t know. I know that you have to do great things for APW. You have to do the things that no one else can do. Maybe this match, maybe this Rasslemania, will push me into that category. Maybe by defending APW against Lester I’ll be doing something no one else could. I’m not just the forward defense for APW right now, I reckon I’m the last resort. Everyone else is so caught up in what they’re doing now that they’ve missed all of this happening. They’ve missed Lester’s maniacal, self-centred, egotistical attacks of APW of late. They don’t know how close they are to APW’s ruin right now.
And I’m fine with that, you know. APW needs champions. The fans need people to believe in. The fans need to believe that there’s nothing wrong. APW needs to survive as if nothing happened so that, in a hundred years, when we’re talking about the ancient history of APW people will flick back through the record books to Rasslemania VIII and they’ll see Sally versus Lester and they’ll think it was some rematch from last year. They won’t know just what this match meant. They won’t know how close it all came to ending right here. *Sally points to the ground right underneath her*[/i] But there’s two people who will never forget it. Lester and me. As long as I live, as long as I’m at APW I’ll remember this match. These moments, Lester, are going to be the most important in my career. APW has become my home, and now you’re trying to destroy it.
You know, I’ve been asking around about APW. Asking all the megastars what APW means to them. And there are a lot of different answers to that question, let me tell you. So many people with so many different things to say. Some people love the place and some people loathe it. Some people are here for my reasons, and some are here for different ones. But you know the one thing they all had in common? After asking everyone in APW what APW means to them, do you know what they all had in common?
None of them had anything to say about you, Lester. No one here is here because of you. They’re not wrestling to face you. They’re not wrestling to be bigger than you. They’re not working to be in the same company as you. You’re an afterthought to everyone now, Lester. You’ve gone so far away from what it means to be an APW megastar that no one even remembers a time that you were the best here. The company has moved past you and I, and I can handle it. You can’t, and now you’re out to destroy me, destroy APW, destroy everything you and I have worked for. We all know that’s your weakness, in and out of the ring. You can get over yourself, and the hole you used to fill here. And that’s how I’m going to beat you. Your mind games, my mind games. You tactics, my tactics. Your plans, my plans. I know my plans, and I know them well. I know your weaknesses this time around. Your words, your insults, your slander of me might say a whole lot about what you think of me. But there’s still one thing you haven’t answered. One thing we all want to know.
What does APW mean to you? [/color]
Sally finishes with an inquisitive look, one that says she really wants to know the answer. As the scene starts to fade out, she gives a knowing nod. She knows the answer. She knows what’s at stake this match. And, in her heart of hearts, she knows the outcome of this match. This is the scene that the shot fades out on. The shot fades away to a blank, black screen, on which:
‘Sally Talfourd’
is written across the screen before the episode comes to a close and it all fades away.
Is that a loaded question or what. I mean, it’s just a company to some people. To some people APW is nothing more than the logo that appears on the top corner of their pay check. No more. No less. It’s not alive. It’s not a part of us. It’s not a piece of us. It’s just some company that exists on business model and budget papers.
To others, it’s a little bit more. It’s still a company, but it’s their company. It’s theirs because they put their efforts into it. They put their work into it. They put their everything into it. It’s a company, but it’s something they feel like they own a part of. They own a part because they have earned it; earned it by working hard and reaping the rewards.
And then to the few, to the select few, APW is more. Much, much more. They are a part of a living, thriving company and the company is part of their living, breathing body. APW lives because they live, and they live because APW exists. There’s life in APW, and they see it. They see it and want to protect it. Protect it from the people that only see it as a company. That want to use it. That want to destroy it. The people who live for APW get so much more out of being a part of it all. An experience that they cannot describe.
As Rasslemania draws nearer, anyone can look at the night’s run-down and see a stand-out match. Sally Talfourd versus Level-One. It’s not just a stand-out because of the calibre of competition. It’s a standout because it’s the clash of two extremes. On one hand you have me. Sally Talfourd. The defender of APW. The person who has fought all her time here to keep APW from being corrupted. From being destroyed. From being hurt.
On the other hand, you have Lester Only. The man who wants to destroy APW. Destroy it because it has moved on from him. Because it doesn’t need him. Because it’s starting to forget him. If he’s not the centre of attention, he’s going to be the destroyer of all this. Destroy all of our hard work. All of our efforts. All of our perseverance. Destroyed because he can’t accept the successes of others.
I’ve already waxed on about all that - about Lester’s disdain and my love for APW. You can see the last episode. What this is all about is the battle between two people. The battle for two people to make their vision come true. To say this is a personal battle is an understatement. Most wrestling matches are, to a degree, a personal battle. But this one? This is close to our hearts.
Will APW remain the thriving, living, premiere wrestling company in business today?
Or will it be destroyed by the hands that once helped to take it to great levels of success?
----------------------------------------------------------
Internet Explorer-*click*-Favorites-*click*-APW.com-*click*-Survive and Conquer-*click*-Sally Talfourd-*click*-Loading...
"Sally Talfourd presents ..."
is written across the screen, fades out, then
"In association with Action Packed Wrestling..."
is next to appear, holds, then fades out for
"A special Rasslemania presentation...”
which holds and fades to
"Happy Endings T.V."
Which fades away as well to a shot of thousands of people lining up. The line stretches for miles. Well, a few hundred metres. If you know what a metre is then you’ll have an idea. If you don’t, well, it’s just a really long line of people. They are all roped together, and everywhere along the other side (which is a building) is pinned a Rasslemania VIII poster. It’s not the Lucas Oil Stadium, but the building attached to it: The convention centre. Today, these last few days before the big show, APW is treating all their fans to a showing of sorts. An exhibition of sorts, showcasing the year leading up to the big night. While the fans wait though, the talent get to survey the thing. The scene fades away from the mass to the few, where some of the APW talent who are looking it through.
There are billboard posters hanging from the roof of some of the most renowned talents APW has. There are title belts behind glass displays. There are video monitors showing some of the best matches, the best moments, the best memories. It’s APW, and it’s one of the finest years they’ve had. All sorts of new talent have come in, and among them some of the biggest names in the business. Keaton Saint. Kurt Noble. Michael Harris. Terry Marvin has made his comeback, along with two of the hottest names APW has ever had: Level-One and Sally Talfourd. And speaking of, there she is! The indomitable, beautiful, insatiable Sally Talfourd. It’s her turn to go through it all, get her own view of it.
[Shane] Sally, enjoying the exhibition?
[Sally] It’s great, isn’t it!? I mean, the whole year, everything we have worked for, it’s all here. *Sally opens up her arms as if you invite everyone to look around* APW at its finest.
[Shane] Do you feature here?
[Sally] Oh yeah, here and there. Over there at the Undisputed belt, they say that my loss at Rasslemania VII started off all the events with Lester, which led to Biggs, which led to CJ, which led to...well, where we are now. And over there...*Sally points to the Tag Team titles*...there’s a mention of me and Havok over there.
[Shane] That’s it? Mentions about titles you didn’t win?
[Sally] Well, I get a good write-up on the Survive and Conquer panel. I managed a sixth place or something. I’m still not sure where we’re at with the Knuckles situation. But yeah, I guess I’m not such a big feature in here. But, at the same time, neither is Lester really. And we’re in maybe the most anticipated match of the night. Ceratinly the most anticipated that doesn’t include a belt. But that just goes to figure: You don’t need to be fighting over a belt to be fighting for something important.
[Shane] APW?
[Sally] APW. Everything I said before. The last few days. Each time I bumped into one of those guys - Noble, Gates, Biggs, Saint. Each time I saw them, I knew that I was fighting for something bigger than a belt. It was APW. But there’s no fun in going over all that again, is there? You’ve all go two ears, so you’ve already heard it twice.
Sally winks and with that remark, Sally looks around. Sure, she might not have been here for the full year. She might not have been in the title pictures. But she sure as heck has been a part of APW since 2012 dawned. And in a big way. Sally continues to walk around, looking over some of the pictures that adorn the walls. As she passes to look all those pictures over, it’s almost like she can hear them talk. All week she’s been talking about what APW means to her. How important APW is and how it’s worth fighting tooth-and-nail for. Now? Now it’s almost as if she can hear what the rest of APW thinks of this company she’s fight for as she passes each friendly face by.
[Johnny Rebel] The thing I like most about the APW is the fact that I'm in it! Without me, this place is nothing but a bunch of card opening curtain jerkers and aging veterans that are holding on too long ... Jeff needs to count his lucky stars that I've decided to stick around long enough to save his pathetic little ship! The best thing going here in APW is me and that's what I love most about this place!
[Havok] It used to be a place where every wrestler wanted to be ... these days, it’s a madhouse! This, at one time BOOMING franchise, is now nothing more than a prepubescent playground for grown men. It’s a joke!
[Julius Farquhar] When I think of APW I think of domination - domination of the Quintessentially English. Everybody knows ever since I walked in that door it became the Quintessentially English show where the finest wrestling talent is combined with the best tea-drinking money can buy; and, I tell you, it couldn't come any sooner.
[Havok] It used to be a place where every wrestler wanted to be ... these days, it’s a madhouse! This, at one time BOOMING franchise, is now nothing more than a prepubescent playground for grown men. It’s a joke!
[Julius Farquhar] When I think of APW I think of domination - domination of the Quintessentially English. Everybody knows ever since I walked in that door it became the Quintessentially English show where the finest wrestling talent is combined with the best tea-drinking money can buy; and, I tell you, it couldn't come any sooner.
[Shane] What does going through all this make you think, Sally? What’s it making you feel?
[Sally] It’s strange, you know. It’s making me feel old! I’ve been here for, like, way less time than some others. But I feel like I’ve been here for a long time. Each day was three. Each year was three. I feel like I should be on display! *Sally looks around, then gets a little more serious* So when I say this is all personal between Lester and I, when I say that it’s for the heart and soul of APW, it should be obvious that it’s about things bigger than belts and titles and things that are shiny. It’s about things you can’t see, things you can only dream about. APW being the biggest company in the business? That was Jeff’s dream and now he sees it. It would be Lester’s dream if he could end APW. ANd it would be my dream to stop that. Lester’s dream is my nightmare, and all I can do is try and stop it.
[President Jeff] What does APW mean to me? Well, APW is my life. I put my heart, soul, sweat and tears in it. Without APW, “President” Hurricane Jeff wouldn’t have gotten the recognition he deserved ... without APW, I wouldn’t have reconnected with a lot of people I used to travel the roads with. Without APW, I wouldn’t have meet many new people and developed many new friendships. APW is more than just a wrestling company. it’s a family, it’s a community and at the end of the day, APW to me, means the best place on earth.
Sally passes by a poster of Jeff looking all smart and flash for a press conference. He looks every part a president of a company, as well as a man who is living his dream.
[Sally] But when it comes to the match - our match - it’s not about the glitz and glamour this time. Last year might have been like that, Lester, but this year it’s different. It’s not about titles or awards. It’s about something much, much more important to each of us. Everyone watching is excited just to see us go toe-to-toe again, but think nothing of the stakes. At the very best, they see it as a chance for me to even the score against you. But you? Me? We both know that we’re fighting over something far more important than that. Far more important that any title.
We’re fighting for our legacies, aren’t we Lester? We’re done. We’re not APW anymore. Oh sure, we’re still wrestling for APW. We’re still working for APW. We still come back to APW when we get the itch. But we’re not the heart and soul of the company anymore. Let’s face it, Lester. We’re past our peaks. Yours was four, five years ago. Mine was two, three years ago. And neither of us are who we once were.
Sally continues to move around the exhibition. Photos passing her by. Photos of the up-and-coming APW-ers who are about to take the world by storm.
[Anthony Bailey] What the APW means to me is that I view this place as a vessel for the fruition of many dreams. Growing up I wanted to become a professional wrestler so bad and APW has been the only place to give me that opportunity ... this is the place that provided me with the opportunity to pass up becoming a drone of Corporate America and doing something worthwhile for all the years that I will exist on this earth. That's what the APW means to be.
[Mike Morrison] To me it is a lot of things. It is the non stop shop for the prankaholic such as myself ... it also stands for entertainment ... it means to me a journey of the soul ... nothing more satisfying than crazy shenanigans every week to explore the pain of ones soul! What a journey that is!
[Phil Atken] For years I was "the guy who'll never meet his potential" in this industry and now look at me. I'm going to be at APW's biggest show of the year and I'm going to finally get my hands on a man who deserves a little lesson in humility himself. APW has allowed me to meet my potential and at this rate, I may even exceed it.
[Billy Pepsi] APW means everything to me. It's a place where I can showcase my talents to the world, and prove that I'm not some weak little black sheep. APW is my future, and I am the future of the APW!
[Mike Morrison] To me it is a lot of things. It is the non stop shop for the prankaholic such as myself ... it also stands for entertainment ... it means to me a journey of the soul ... nothing more satisfying than crazy shenanigans every week to explore the pain of ones soul! What a journey that is!
[Phil Atken] For years I was "the guy who'll never meet his potential" in this industry and now look at me. I'm going to be at APW's biggest show of the year and I'm going to finally get my hands on a man who deserves a little lesson in humility himself. APW has allowed me to meet my potential and at this rate, I may even exceed it.
[Billy Pepsi] APW means everything to me. It's a place where I can showcase my talents to the world, and prove that I'm not some weak little black sheep. APW is my future, and I am the future of the APW!
There’s a match on loop from the March 1st show of OverDrive. It’s not a ‘big name’ match by any throw. But it’s one hell of a spectacle: Johnny Rebel versus Chris Hart. Sally stops to look at it for the second time (because she was there to watch it that night).
[Chris Hart] Action Packed Wrestling means the world to me. I'm not stuck in Tennessee being told I'll never amount to anything, that no one's going to remember me ... I've been given the chance to prove that I'm the best.
While she’s watching the match happen, he keeps on talking to Shane, who has to move around to get her on the camera, peering at her over the screen. She continues with a grin, a cheeky grin, still talking to her old foe Lester Only as if he were there.
[Sally] Oh sure, we’re still better than 95% of the kids that run around our rings. Who put hands on titles that we made. But when it comes to what APW stands for, it’s not us anymore. It’s not about legacies and the history. It’s about the future and the young-guns that are making this business exciting again. And that leaves us outside of it all. In a sense, we don’t belong in the title matches, in the main events, headlining the pay-per-views like we used to. These new megastars belong there. They deserve it. They earn it every night. They’re doing what we used to do, Lester. They’re going out and working hard. Putting on great matches. Giving the audiences what they want. Exactly what they want. Us? We’re on the outside. They’re doing that...so where does that leave us?
It leaves us right where we are, Lester. Staring down the barrel of our legacies. I don’t now how many years we’ve both go in this business still. Maybe a handful, who knows how long we’ll keep at it. But we won’t ever be the megastars we were. People know us too well. The fans? The wrestlers? We’re more than a known entity now. We’re...dare I say it...familiar. People still love our matches. People still tune in to see us speak. People still scream our names. But...we’ve lost that x-factor. People have seen so much of us that they know exactly what to expect. You know it, Lester. You know it better than me.
Sally gives a strange look to Shane and the camera. Not quite depressed, but not exactly ecstatic. It’s almost like coming to terms with your mortality. When you realise you’re going to die and there’s nothing to do about it at all. But this is, like, career mortality. When you realise that you’re not going to get better. You’re the best you can be, and that’s it. You’re still great, but you just can’t get greater.
[Chaz Dillinger] APW is the crème de la crème of professional wrestling. Every wrestler who passes through here, can say that they’ve made it to the top of the wrestling world. APW is excitement, entertainment, and the perfect example of what a wrestling promotion should be. APW means the world to me, and does for a lot of men and women in the back.
[John Dionysus] APW means opportunity. The opportunity to compete against the best this business has to offer, to shine on the biggest stage of them all, and a shot at immortality.
[John Dionysus] APW means opportunity. The opportunity to compete against the best this business has to offer, to shine on the biggest stage of them all, and a shot at immortality.
[Sally] So here we are. The place we end up. Really, the only place we could end up. A year ago, we were fighting for the biggest and best prize in APW, in the biggest match of the year, on the biggest stage that the company has. Now? Now the title has moved on. Our match is down the card. And while we’re on the same stage, we’re standing on the same level as the rest of the new, big names. Nothing is like last year. We’re not irrelevant to APW...just less relevant.
That’s not such a bad thing, is it? APW grows, moves on, gets better. It has to leave some people behind. Sally and Lester took the company as far as they could; it’s only logical that the company leaves them as it gets taken in newer, better directions with the newer and better talent. There’s nothing wrong with that. Not at all. But putting in all that work, Sally’s not much for one to let that get destroyed. Her work got APW to a place where it could excel. Now it’s time for APW to get better and bigger than she could help it as it stood last year.
[Sally] But, to you and me, Lester, that doesn’t make this match anything less than the most important tonight. In fact, our die-hard fans already know just how much more important what we’re fighting over is than the titles that might be changing hands at Rasslemania. I know that you do, because I know how important the match is. Legacies are what we’ve been fighting for since day one. It’s why we did anything at all. Our legacy is how we’re remembered. We want to be remembered for the wins, the titles, the awards. We want to be remembered for them because they are the measure of success. And for anyone else in this business, that would be enough. A handful of titles, a few nothing awards, and a ten-match winning streak. That’s all some people ever get remembered for, and that’s good enough for them.
But not for me.
And not for you.
We want to be remembered for more. Much more. Remembered as being the best that APW ever had. And, between you and me, it’s bound to be one of us. In between the matches that we’ve fought are both our legacies. That we were unmatchable, only able to me bested by each other. No one else could get near us when it came to our best. But, like everyone in this business, there is always one who is just that much better than the other. One of us has to be better than the other. And, as much as I might hate it right now - you’ve got that title at the moment. You look at our record and it’s 3-2 your way. One-on-one, and you’ve got the upper-hand.
[Jason Kash] APW means a legacy that is mine to make or lose ... seen and felt by millions of people ... it means being among the best talent in this business and the money isn't bad either, buys some good weed!
That’s what this match is all about for me. It’s about setting the only record that I regret straight. It’s about finally setting my legacy in stone. That you weren’t ‘the one’ who always had it over me. That you weren’t ‘the one’ who got away. My legacy is going to be that I was the best that APW had. And that means setting our record straight. It means preserving APW so that there is a legacy for everyone to see. It means making sure you don’t destroy this company and rewrite the bits of history that you don’t like. Do I have a few selfish reasons to beat you? Of course. That’s just normal. When you’re fighting for something so important, you have to be fighting for a bit of yourself. And my legacy is as tied in to this as yours. If APW succeeds, I succeed. If APW fails, you fail. That’s the simple equation here. I have more to fight for here. So much more. Everyone has their own personal reasons for being here, and I’m no different. But unlike you, Lester, and unlike a few others here, I care about APW. And that means my reasons for fight are APW’s reasons. My legacy is attached to APW’s. So I fight for APW, and not for myself.
[Blade] It used to mean a place where hopes and dreams were kept alive and made reality. Now it basically means I can get paid to feed my habit. APW is about destroying friendships and demoralising the opposition, anything you can use to get ahead; and that is basically what I have done to get where I am today.
[Yarmouth] Well, what Action Packed Wrestling means to me is that I get to hurt people and get paid for it ... APW is one of the best organisations that is out there and for me to be part of it is one of the proudest moments of my life and President Jeff see's that I have what it takes to succeed in APW ... all in all Action Packed Wrestling is a place were I get the job done and kick ass doing it.
[Michael Harris] APW is simply nothing more than the company I am single handily take by storm ... all I care about is what I want and what I do here ... APW is mine for the taking and sure enough that's what will happen.
[Michael Callahan] When I got here it was to make a quick buck to tide me over while I embarked on my path to the high offices of America. Once I got here though I quickly realised that this is an ideal starting point for bringing about social change ... By bringing about major change in wrestling on an international scale, it only sets me in stead to do the same to the good ol' US of A.
[/color][Yarmouth] Well, what Action Packed Wrestling means to me is that I get to hurt people and get paid for it ... APW is one of the best organisations that is out there and for me to be part of it is one of the proudest moments of my life and President Jeff see's that I have what it takes to succeed in APW ... all in all Action Packed Wrestling is a place were I get the job done and kick ass doing it.
[Michael Harris] APW is simply nothing more than the company I am single handily take by storm ... all I care about is what I want and what I do here ... APW is mine for the taking and sure enough that's what will happen.
[Michael Callahan] When I got here it was to make a quick buck to tide me over while I embarked on my path to the high offices of America. Once I got here though I quickly realised that this is an ideal starting point for bringing about social change ... By bringing about major change in wrestling on an international scale, it only sets me in stead to do the same to the good ol' US of A.
Sally turns back to the camera one last time, knowing that the crowds are about to fill this place like kids in a candy store.
[Sally] And despite everything you’ve said about me, over the past year and the past week, you’ve always known I’ve respected you for your skill. For your talent. For your abilities. I don’t respect your motives, obviously, but I do respect the things you can do in the ring. And sure, those things need recognition. But after what you’ve done to me last week, and what you’re trying to do to APW, you don’t deserve a Rasslemania win. Not this time. Beating me last year, you earned that. That win was deserved because you fought hard and you fought better. This year? You’ve attacked me like I was some dog! All because I was smarter! You get titles for being smarter. You get awards for being smarter. You get legacies worth remembering for being smarter! And, yes, you get Rasslemania wins for being smarter. You were smarter last year. This year? Getting out of the Sindicate? Getting that briefcase? That was the smarter thing o do. Now you’re having a cry because someone was smarter than you. Between the two of us, this year, I’ve been the better.
[Kurt Noble] Learning who in APW is the definition of greatness ... and who isn’t.
[/color]I’ve been the better one of us, Lester, and you know it. That’s why you’ve arranged for this match. You’ve attacked me. You’ve lied and deceived and tricked me. You’ve been the worst of us, and I’ve been the best. I’ve out-moved you leading up to this, and I’ll do it all over again at our special match. It might be in a steel cage. but that just gives me a better chance at winning. A cage has no friends. A cage has no enemies. It’s just a weapon that surrounds us all. And when you’re trying to drag your sorry, bloated, exhausted ass over the top...I’ll spring up after having grounded you down, I’ll race to the top after having worn you out, and I’ll climb over having kicked and wrestled and beat you into submission. You’ll be hard-pressed to even stand up after going for a whole match against me. I’m better when I’m cornered, and there’s four corners in this cage. I’m fighting for the good things because I’m better. I’m fighting for APW because I’m better. I’m fighting for my legacy because I’m better. Better than you. What on Earth are you fighting for? For nothing! For yourself! I’m fighting for this company *Sally gestures to the exhibition, to APW all around her* and you’re fighting to destroy it. I’m fighting so that this company stays as something and you’re fighting to turn it into...nothing.
[CJ Gates] APW is my home. It's the federation that I represent each and every time I step into that ring. APW has some of the best fans in the business, and I make sure to not only honor them, but honor everyone in APW for everything that they have done to make us one of the best.
[Terry Marvin] What does APW mean to me? That's like asking what does H20 mean to me, what does Oxygen mean to me. APW is my life, it's what keeps me going. It's the very reason i open my eyes every morning, the very reason I keep breathing. But more than that....proving that I am the BEST in APW is my reason for living! Being the best in APW means being the best in the world. Succeeding in APW means that I can succeed anywhere. SHOWTIME is APW!
[Knuckles] Home! I've been all over the world and even after my years of bloodshed, the only place I can honestly call home is APW. I wouldn't dare lace up my boots and spill or shed blood anyplace else but APW ... APW means everything I stand for. Tons of action and gettin' ya' money's worth ... I'm proud to say that not only was I apart of it, but will be remembered here.
[/color][Terry Marvin] What does APW mean to me? That's like asking what does H20 mean to me, what does Oxygen mean to me. APW is my life, it's what keeps me going. It's the very reason i open my eyes every morning, the very reason I keep breathing. But more than that....proving that I am the BEST in APW is my reason for living! Being the best in APW means being the best in the world. Succeeding in APW means that I can succeed anywhere. SHOWTIME is APW!
[Knuckles] Home! I've been all over the world and even after my years of bloodshed, the only place I can honestly call home is APW. I wouldn't dare lace up my boots and spill or shed blood anyplace else but APW ... APW means everything I stand for. Tons of action and gettin' ya' money's worth ... I'm proud to say that not only was I apart of it, but will be remembered here.
[Voice over the PA] APW talent, please head to the staff exits as the fans are about to enter.
Sally takes advice from the voice and gestures for Shane to follow. She heads out, passing the exhibition in a blur. Those last bits that she missed - the Year End Awards, some of the memorable memorabilia all cased away.
[Biggs] APW means my legacy. APW is the best of the best, and if you have success in APW, it makes you great ... I had a successful career before coming to APW ... but it didn't feel as legitimate as it did when I defeated Level-One to claim the APW Undisputed Championship! Because of APW, I am a bonafide living legend in this sport.
[Stan] For Armando and myself, APW means opportunity. Without APW, we would have never had the chance to do what we love for a living, and we wouldn't have been able to do it together, as a team.
[Sr. Guapo] You forgot to mention all the sexy ladies, especially you, Sally!
[Biggs] Come on, Armando, show some respect!
[Sr. Guapo] Sr. Guapo just says it like he sees it!
[Keaton Saint] Proof ... proof of existence, of meaning and of a purpose. Proof that I can, I will and I must ... It's about who I am, what I do and what I represent ... APW is proof that the message lives and connects with every fan who watches me in the ring. It's proof to me that after everything I've endured and accomplished I know I've made the right decision ... what I represent is the outcome of hard work, determination and a staggering amount of self-belief ... APW keep the message alive and they ensure that whilst the message will never change, it will grow and expand.
[/color][Stan] For Armando and myself, APW means opportunity. Without APW, we would have never had the chance to do what we love for a living, and we wouldn't have been able to do it together, as a team.
[Sr. Guapo] You forgot to mention all the sexy ladies, especially you, Sally!
[Biggs] Come on, Armando, show some respect!
[Sr. Guapo] Sr. Guapo just says it like he sees it!
[Keaton Saint] Proof ... proof of existence, of meaning and of a purpose. Proof that I can, I will and I must ... It's about who I am, what I do and what I represent ... APW is proof that the message lives and connects with every fan who watches me in the ring. It's proof to me that after everything I've endured and accomplished I know I've made the right decision ... what I represent is the outcome of hard work, determination and a staggering amount of self-belief ... APW keep the message alive and they ensure that whilst the message will never change, it will grow and expand.
The scene fades out as Sally heads through the staff doors. On the blank screen, the cheers and screams of the fans rushing into the exhibition can be heard. A reminder about what this business is all about. That without the fans - the fans Sally loves and the fans that Lester hates - there’s not going to be an APW. Sally’s fight for APW isn’t just for her. It isn’t just for the talent that she’s been hearing. It’s for all those fans that will be watching this clash of wrestling giants. Eventually the scene fades back in on Sally Talfourd in match gear. She’s done up, all the make-up, the ribbons in her hair, the costume. Looking the part and ready to go. There’s a low roar from the crowd filling every corner of the locker room that we find Sally in. She smiles, then walks over to the door to close it so that she can be heard.
[Shane] Show night?
[Sally] Show night. Biggest night of the year. Biggest match of the year. Maybe even of my career.
[Shane] Any last thoughts? Regrets?
[Sally] Regrets? Well, you can always use one more day of training, right? One more hour on the machines. Another few minutes in the ring. I’m not perfect, and neither is Lester. The difference is that I know it and try to improve myself. He doesn’t accept it and rests on his reputation. I’m always fighting to better myself. Better my reputation. Better my place in APW. Lester? He thinks he’s entitled to everything because he did something last year. Yes, he did great things in the past, but he hasn’t done anything great recently. He’s been the lowest of lows of late. Fraternising with the Sindicate. Attacking me. Trying to destroy APW. He’s done nothing to deserve the recognition of a legend. What legends do what he does?
[Shane] And you? Are you a legend?
[Sally] Me? No. Maybe. I don’t know. People know who I am here, but I don’t know. I know that you have to do great things for APW. You have to do the things that no one else can do. Maybe this match, maybe this Rasslemania, will push me into that category. Maybe by defending APW against Lester I’ll be doing something no one else could. I’m not just the forward defense for APW right now, I reckon I’m the last resort. Everyone else is so caught up in what they’re doing now that they’ve missed all of this happening. They’ve missed Lester’s maniacal, self-centred, egotistical attacks of APW of late. They don’t know how close they are to APW’s ruin right now.
And I’m fine with that, you know. APW needs champions. The fans need people to believe in. The fans need to believe that there’s nothing wrong. APW needs to survive as if nothing happened so that, in a hundred years, when we’re talking about the ancient history of APW people will flick back through the record books to Rasslemania VIII and they’ll see Sally versus Lester and they’ll think it was some rematch from last year. They won’t know just what this match meant. They won’t know how close it all came to ending right here. *Sally points to the ground right underneath her*[/i] But there’s two people who will never forget it. Lester and me. As long as I live, as long as I’m at APW I’ll remember this match. These moments, Lester, are going to be the most important in my career. APW has become my home, and now you’re trying to destroy it.
You know, I’ve been asking around about APW. Asking all the megastars what APW means to them. And there are a lot of different answers to that question, let me tell you. So many people with so many different things to say. Some people love the place and some people loathe it. Some people are here for my reasons, and some are here for different ones. But you know the one thing they all had in common? After asking everyone in APW what APW means to them, do you know what they all had in common?
None of them had anything to say about you, Lester. No one here is here because of you. They’re not wrestling to face you. They’re not wrestling to be bigger than you. They’re not working to be in the same company as you. You’re an afterthought to everyone now, Lester. You’ve gone so far away from what it means to be an APW megastar that no one even remembers a time that you were the best here. The company has moved past you and I, and I can handle it. You can’t, and now you’re out to destroy me, destroy APW, destroy everything you and I have worked for. We all know that’s your weakness, in and out of the ring. You can get over yourself, and the hole you used to fill here. And that’s how I’m going to beat you. Your mind games, my mind games. You tactics, my tactics. Your plans, my plans. I know my plans, and I know them well. I know your weaknesses this time around. Your words, your insults, your slander of me might say a whole lot about what you think of me. But there’s still one thing you haven’t answered. One thing we all want to know.
What does APW mean to you? [/color]
Sally finishes with an inquisitive look, one that says she really wants to know the answer. As the scene starts to fade out, she gives a knowing nod. She knows the answer. She knows what’s at stake this match. And, in her heart of hearts, she knows the outcome of this match. This is the scene that the shot fades out on. The shot fades away to a blank, black screen, on which:
‘Sally Talfourd’
is written across the screen before the episode comes to a close and it all fades away.
