Post by Rick Majors on Mar 21, 2013 19:07:27 GMT -5
This place looks like a typical 1950s-style diner. It's pretty obvious that it hasn't been around since the 1950s however. It looks a little too "new" and a little too cliché to actually be a diner from the 50s. It also looks a little too grimey and a little too worn down to be a brand new "retro-style" diner. From it's appearance, it's obvious that it's been around for a while, just not as long as it would like to pretend that it's been.
Some sort of generic pop music from an indeterminate decade is playing. It's barely audible due to the general noise of people eating and taling. The place is surprisingly busy for a boring old diner, but it's Sunday at around 11am and apparently a lot of people in this town really like brunch.
Rick Majors is seated in a booth. Across from him is his wife Kelly. They're not really looking at one another, or speaking. They're not really eating either. Rick Majors focus is down at his plate. He's poking some scrambled eggs around with his fork, clearly disinterested with the food that remains in front of him. He pauses for a minute, picks up a sticky ketchup bottle from the table and deposits a healthy glop of the substance on his plate. He then goes back to poking the egg around, as if doing so will somehow make it either taste better or disappear. Finally Kelly Majors breaks the silence.
Kelly: "After we eat, I was thinking of heading to that cake place down the street and picking up a cake for my sister. It's her birthday tomorrow."
Rick responds without looking up from his plate.
Rick: "Sure."
He doesn't stop poking at his plate the entire time. Kelly sighs and looks at him annoyed.
Kelly: "So I assume you're just going to spend today moping around too?"
Majors finally takes his focus off of his mangled breakfast and he looks up at Kelly.
Rick: "What's that supposed to mean?"
Kelly: "It's supposed to mean that you've been miserable for months now. Ever since you went back to wrestling you've been all sad and mopey and ranting. No offense, but I'm getting sick of it. This isn't the guy I married."
Rick drops his fork down on the plate. There's suddenly some anger in his eyes. He takes a deep breath, trying to take the rage out of his voice before he speaks.[/b]
Rick: "You know EXACTLY why I'm miserable. It's this damn business. It ruins lives. You know that. Out of all people you should know that."
Kelly: "So then why do you keep doing it? You were out. You were out for YEARS. NLCW closed down and you came home. Yeah, it wasn't the homecoming we expected and, yeah, I spent a lot of those first few months in a wheelchair, but we were finally both at home. After everything we'd been through, we were both at home. We were supposed to finally be happy. And then you left again."
Rick: "I left because I had business to take care of. I had to spread my message to the world. I had to show everyone exactly how evil this industry is. And I had to shut it down."
Kelly: "You always want to be a hero, don't you Rick? You want to be a hero to everyone but me."
Rick: "WHAT!?"
Several other diner patrons turn around to see what's going on at the Majors' table. Kelly turns her face away from them in embarrassment. Rick lowers his voice but continues to speak.
Rick: "What do you mean I'm not a hero to you. I'm doing all of this FOR you. I'm working to shut this industry down so that it doesn't hurt us anymore."
Kelly: "That's bullshit. It stopped hurting us years ago. Or at least it should of. This all should have ended many, many years ago. Even before my accident. The only reason it keeps hurting us is because you keep going back to it. Something about it draws you in. You're addicted to it."
Rick: "I'm destroying it!"
Many other people have begun to stare at the arguing couple. Rick and Kelly are now far too involved in their own world to even notice.
Kelly: "You don't need to destroy it! You just need to walk away! You could have walked away YEARS AGO. You broke your neck in 2005, Rick. That was eight years ago. EIGHT YEARS. That was your out. You could have left the business for good at that point. No one would have blamed you. You had enough money. We would have been fine. We could have built a life together. Sure, it wouldn't have been the ‘wrestling life' that you always dreamed of and you wouldn't have been a big superstar, but it would have been better than the mess we have now!"
Rick: "You KNOW that I couldn't have left in 2005. I wasn't going to let a bunch of my best friends stab me in the back, break my neck and leave me there without any retribution!"
Kelly: "And that's exactly it! Why not? It was a stupid feud between you and your friends. For someone who hates the wrestling industry as much as you claim to, you sure care a lot about it. Face it, Rick, you always find some excuse to go back to wrestling. You're addicted. You can't leave it. And it's been hurting our relationship for years."
Rick Majors looks down once again upon realizing the pain that his career has caused to the woman he loves.
Rick: "I know Kelly. That's why I have to kill it."
Kelly: "But you're NOT killing it Rick. One person isn't going to destroy a multimillion dollar industry. I mean, what happens if you win the International Title? You think they'll shut the place down because you won a match? Of course they won't. All that will happen is that you'll need to defend it. And you won't just need to defend it, but you'll need to make all of the public appearances and do everything else that comes with holding a title. And you'll do it."
Rick: "I don't care about the title, you know that. This isn't about me being champion. It's about symbolism. It's about the establishment losing one of their champions. I start by taking this title and I end by destroying the company. I won't do promotional appearances for a company I hate and I won't defend a title I don't care about."
Kelly: "They have lawyers, Rick. You signed a contract. You can't just win the title and then not defend it. They'll just take it back. Or worse, they'll sue you and we'll lose even more money. You can't win. This is a machine that you can't fight on your own. It's too big. It's too much for you to take on. And it's too much for me to endure. I've dealt with this for too long and I can't do it anymore. It's not fair to me. I've supported you your entire career and you've always promised that there would be ‘one last thing' that you needed to accomplish. You kept promising that you'd quit and come home and that we could be a family again. But now I know those were all lies."
Rick: "I've never lied to you, Kelly. Every single time I told you I was done, I honestly believed that I was. It's just that things changed and....."
Kelly: "Enough, Rick. Justifying your addiction doesn't make it right."
Rick Majors looks down at his food once again. Unsurprisingly, the remnants of of egg and ketchup that scatter his plate haven't become any more appetizing. He pushes the plate aside and turns to stare out the window.
Kelly: "Let's just finish our food and go home. I can go to the cake store tomorrow."
Rick: "No... it's okay. I want you to go to the store. If you don't mind, I'm going to take a walk."
Kelly: "Rick... don't."
Rick: "I'm not upset. I just want some time to think. Honestly."
Now it's Kelly's turn to look down at her plate. Rick Majors stands up and picks his jacket up off of the seat. He puts on the jacket and looks down at Kelly.
Rick: "I'll be home soon. I love you."
Kelly: "Me too."
Kelly goes back to her food as Rick Majors turns and walks out of the diner. The crowd who had been staring at them for most of their argument turns back to the people that they are sitting with. Kelly Majors sighs as those in the diner who heard their conversation start to speak to one another in hushed tones. She can't believe how embarrassed she is.
Outside the diner, Rick Majors shivers in the cold. It's technically spring, but it doesn't feel like it. He pulls his jacket together tighter and then he takes a winter hat and gloves out of his pocket. He places the hat on his head, puts the gloves on his hands and walks down the street.
What Kelly said had really shaken him. It had shaken him because she was right. Why is he here? Why did he go back to wrestling? Did he really believe that somehow he would destroy the entire industry? And, even if he did, would that actually change anything for society? Would it change anything for him?
His relationship with Kelly is a mess. It has been for many years, even before her accident. Taking the International Title from Whitey Ford wouldn't fix that. Perhaps nothing would. But if something was going to fix it, it would be him returning home and spending time with her. He had to work on his relationship, not on winning a piece of metal and leather from some redneck alcoholic.
But now he'd put himself in this situation and he had to find a way out of it. He really, really wanted to compete in that match. He wanted to hurt Whitey Ford. He wanted to damage Marshall's Law. He wanted to take just a little something from the PCW establishment. Why exactly? He wasn't even sure anymore. There wasn't much in his life that he was sure of. He didn't even know what he would do after the match. He didn't know what his plans were for the title. But he knew he wanted it.
He was going to take it. He'd already gone this far. He could sort out everything with Kelly later. Yes, he'd told her "one last thing" so many times but, maybe, this time he meant it. Maybe this is all he needed to be free. Maybe he didn't need to destroy wrestling himself. It might be just as good to show the world that he could. Think of how much it would mean if he could show everyone that this giant industry isn't as infallible as everyone thinks it is. Taking a small piece of this company away might just be enough to lead to its eventual crumble. Maybe his revolution isn't the kind that ends with a bloody war. Maybe it's more of a quiet revolution. Maybe it's one that slowly builds over time until the establishment falls.
He doesn't need to create violence and chaos. He needs to usher in cultural change.
That's an idea that he could get behind. And it's a way to damage the industry that he wouldn't need to complete all by himself. He could start the ball rolling and then watch as it crushes everything in its path. His dream would be for his work to inspire others to take up the cause so that, if he fell, his mission would continue.
Kelly was right. This isn't a war he can win on his own. And his family shouldn't be the only ones to suffer in the for the cause. He doesn't need to be a one man army. He needs to be a leader of men.
And the best way to inspire others to rise up is to show them that it can be done. That's what needs to happen at Mass Destruction. He needs to dethrone Whitey Ford. He needs to show everyone that the system can be beaten. Whitey Ford will be the first casualty in this war. His destruction will allow the world to see that good can triumph over evil. Then, hopefully, all of those who have been damaged and tossed aside by this industry will take up arms. They will continue this fight even if Rick Majors cannot. This is how the revolution begins. He'd had it wrong all along.
Rick Majors smiles to himself. It's the first time he can remember smiling in months. The smile quickly fades when he thinks of Kelly. She won't approve of this. She'll never believe that all of the madness caused by his tortured wrestling career will ever come to an end. She thinks he wants to die in that ring and, up until this very moment, he always imagined that he would.
But now he sees that it doesn't have to be that way. He can live and still see this industry die. He doesn't need to do all the fighting himself. He needs to create a beacon of light that will shine through a dark industry. The mission will be accomplished that much more quickly if he can convince the masses to join him in his cause.
Whitey Ford will fall with the world watching. And then the walls will come tumbling down.
Some sort of generic pop music from an indeterminate decade is playing. It's barely audible due to the general noise of people eating and taling. The place is surprisingly busy for a boring old diner, but it's Sunday at around 11am and apparently a lot of people in this town really like brunch.
Rick Majors is seated in a booth. Across from him is his wife Kelly. They're not really looking at one another, or speaking. They're not really eating either. Rick Majors focus is down at his plate. He's poking some scrambled eggs around with his fork, clearly disinterested with the food that remains in front of him. He pauses for a minute, picks up a sticky ketchup bottle from the table and deposits a healthy glop of the substance on his plate. He then goes back to poking the egg around, as if doing so will somehow make it either taste better or disappear. Finally Kelly Majors breaks the silence.
Kelly: "After we eat, I was thinking of heading to that cake place down the street and picking up a cake for my sister. It's her birthday tomorrow."
Rick responds without looking up from his plate.
Rick: "Sure."
He doesn't stop poking at his plate the entire time. Kelly sighs and looks at him annoyed.
Kelly: "So I assume you're just going to spend today moping around too?"
Majors finally takes his focus off of his mangled breakfast and he looks up at Kelly.
Rick: "What's that supposed to mean?"
Kelly: "It's supposed to mean that you've been miserable for months now. Ever since you went back to wrestling you've been all sad and mopey and ranting. No offense, but I'm getting sick of it. This isn't the guy I married."
Rick drops his fork down on the plate. There's suddenly some anger in his eyes. He takes a deep breath, trying to take the rage out of his voice before he speaks.[/b]
Rick: "You know EXACTLY why I'm miserable. It's this damn business. It ruins lives. You know that. Out of all people you should know that."
Kelly: "So then why do you keep doing it? You were out. You were out for YEARS. NLCW closed down and you came home. Yeah, it wasn't the homecoming we expected and, yeah, I spent a lot of those first few months in a wheelchair, but we were finally both at home. After everything we'd been through, we were both at home. We were supposed to finally be happy. And then you left again."
Rick: "I left because I had business to take care of. I had to spread my message to the world. I had to show everyone exactly how evil this industry is. And I had to shut it down."
Kelly: "You always want to be a hero, don't you Rick? You want to be a hero to everyone but me."
Rick: "WHAT!?"
Several other diner patrons turn around to see what's going on at the Majors' table. Kelly turns her face away from them in embarrassment. Rick lowers his voice but continues to speak.
Rick: "What do you mean I'm not a hero to you. I'm doing all of this FOR you. I'm working to shut this industry down so that it doesn't hurt us anymore."
Kelly: "That's bullshit. It stopped hurting us years ago. Or at least it should of. This all should have ended many, many years ago. Even before my accident. The only reason it keeps hurting us is because you keep going back to it. Something about it draws you in. You're addicted to it."
Rick: "I'm destroying it!"
Many other people have begun to stare at the arguing couple. Rick and Kelly are now far too involved in their own world to even notice.
Kelly: "You don't need to destroy it! You just need to walk away! You could have walked away YEARS AGO. You broke your neck in 2005, Rick. That was eight years ago. EIGHT YEARS. That was your out. You could have left the business for good at that point. No one would have blamed you. You had enough money. We would have been fine. We could have built a life together. Sure, it wouldn't have been the ‘wrestling life' that you always dreamed of and you wouldn't have been a big superstar, but it would have been better than the mess we have now!"
Rick: "You KNOW that I couldn't have left in 2005. I wasn't going to let a bunch of my best friends stab me in the back, break my neck and leave me there without any retribution!"
Kelly: "And that's exactly it! Why not? It was a stupid feud between you and your friends. For someone who hates the wrestling industry as much as you claim to, you sure care a lot about it. Face it, Rick, you always find some excuse to go back to wrestling. You're addicted. You can't leave it. And it's been hurting our relationship for years."
Rick Majors looks down once again upon realizing the pain that his career has caused to the woman he loves.
Rick: "I know Kelly. That's why I have to kill it."
Kelly: "But you're NOT killing it Rick. One person isn't going to destroy a multimillion dollar industry. I mean, what happens if you win the International Title? You think they'll shut the place down because you won a match? Of course they won't. All that will happen is that you'll need to defend it. And you won't just need to defend it, but you'll need to make all of the public appearances and do everything else that comes with holding a title. And you'll do it."
Rick: "I don't care about the title, you know that. This isn't about me being champion. It's about symbolism. It's about the establishment losing one of their champions. I start by taking this title and I end by destroying the company. I won't do promotional appearances for a company I hate and I won't defend a title I don't care about."
Kelly: "They have lawyers, Rick. You signed a contract. You can't just win the title and then not defend it. They'll just take it back. Or worse, they'll sue you and we'll lose even more money. You can't win. This is a machine that you can't fight on your own. It's too big. It's too much for you to take on. And it's too much for me to endure. I've dealt with this for too long and I can't do it anymore. It's not fair to me. I've supported you your entire career and you've always promised that there would be ‘one last thing' that you needed to accomplish. You kept promising that you'd quit and come home and that we could be a family again. But now I know those were all lies."
Rick: "I've never lied to you, Kelly. Every single time I told you I was done, I honestly believed that I was. It's just that things changed and....."
Kelly: "Enough, Rick. Justifying your addiction doesn't make it right."
Rick Majors looks down at his food once again. Unsurprisingly, the remnants of of egg and ketchup that scatter his plate haven't become any more appetizing. He pushes the plate aside and turns to stare out the window.
Kelly: "Let's just finish our food and go home. I can go to the cake store tomorrow."
Rick: "No... it's okay. I want you to go to the store. If you don't mind, I'm going to take a walk."
Kelly: "Rick... don't."
Rick: "I'm not upset. I just want some time to think. Honestly."
Now it's Kelly's turn to look down at her plate. Rick Majors stands up and picks his jacket up off of the seat. He puts on the jacket and looks down at Kelly.
Rick: "I'll be home soon. I love you."
Kelly: "Me too."
Kelly goes back to her food as Rick Majors turns and walks out of the diner. The crowd who had been staring at them for most of their argument turns back to the people that they are sitting with. Kelly Majors sighs as those in the diner who heard their conversation start to speak to one another in hushed tones. She can't believe how embarrassed she is.
Outside the diner, Rick Majors shivers in the cold. It's technically spring, but it doesn't feel like it. He pulls his jacket together tighter and then he takes a winter hat and gloves out of his pocket. He places the hat on his head, puts the gloves on his hands and walks down the street.
What Kelly said had really shaken him. It had shaken him because she was right. Why is he here? Why did he go back to wrestling? Did he really believe that somehow he would destroy the entire industry? And, even if he did, would that actually change anything for society? Would it change anything for him?
His relationship with Kelly is a mess. It has been for many years, even before her accident. Taking the International Title from Whitey Ford wouldn't fix that. Perhaps nothing would. But if something was going to fix it, it would be him returning home and spending time with her. He had to work on his relationship, not on winning a piece of metal and leather from some redneck alcoholic.
But now he'd put himself in this situation and he had to find a way out of it. He really, really wanted to compete in that match. He wanted to hurt Whitey Ford. He wanted to damage Marshall's Law. He wanted to take just a little something from the PCW establishment. Why exactly? He wasn't even sure anymore. There wasn't much in his life that he was sure of. He didn't even know what he would do after the match. He didn't know what his plans were for the title. But he knew he wanted it.
He was going to take it. He'd already gone this far. He could sort out everything with Kelly later. Yes, he'd told her "one last thing" so many times but, maybe, this time he meant it. Maybe this is all he needed to be free. Maybe he didn't need to destroy wrestling himself. It might be just as good to show the world that he could. Think of how much it would mean if he could show everyone that this giant industry isn't as infallible as everyone thinks it is. Taking a small piece of this company away might just be enough to lead to its eventual crumble. Maybe his revolution isn't the kind that ends with a bloody war. Maybe it's more of a quiet revolution. Maybe it's one that slowly builds over time until the establishment falls.
He doesn't need to create violence and chaos. He needs to usher in cultural change.
That's an idea that he could get behind. And it's a way to damage the industry that he wouldn't need to complete all by himself. He could start the ball rolling and then watch as it crushes everything in its path. His dream would be for his work to inspire others to take up the cause so that, if he fell, his mission would continue.
Kelly was right. This isn't a war he can win on his own. And his family shouldn't be the only ones to suffer in the for the cause. He doesn't need to be a one man army. He needs to be a leader of men.
And the best way to inspire others to rise up is to show them that it can be done. That's what needs to happen at Mass Destruction. He needs to dethrone Whitey Ford. He needs to show everyone that the system can be beaten. Whitey Ford will be the first casualty in this war. His destruction will allow the world to see that good can triumph over evil. Then, hopefully, all of those who have been damaged and tossed aside by this industry will take up arms. They will continue this fight even if Rick Majors cannot. This is how the revolution begins. He'd had it wrong all along.
Rick Majors smiles to himself. It's the first time he can remember smiling in months. The smile quickly fades when he thinks of Kelly. She won't approve of this. She'll never believe that all of the madness caused by his tortured wrestling career will ever come to an end. She thinks he wants to die in that ring and, up until this very moment, he always imagined that he would.
But now he sees that it doesn't have to be that way. He can live and still see this industry die. He doesn't need to do all the fighting himself. He needs to create a beacon of light that will shine through a dark industry. The mission will be accomplished that much more quickly if he can convince the masses to join him in his cause.
Whitey Ford will fall with the world watching. And then the walls will come tumbling down.