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I am the greatest. -Cassius Clay aka Muhammad Ali No, I am the greatest! -"Natural Wonder" Shane Jackson Narrator: Shane has done it. He's made it to the top. Cleveland's own son had become the CWF Unified Champion. Under normal circumstances Shane would be out celebrating, out partying and picking up chicks. Circumstances aren't normal. Shane still has no idea what Travis has done to his family. Smith's vicious attack on Shane at Bloodbath has only added fuel to the, proverbial, fire. Open to the hotel in Buffalo New York, where the wrestlers are staying before Explosion. Normally it's a Holiday Inn that they are boarded in but the CWF executives decided to spring for a very expensive hotel in lew of the fantastic matches that took place at Bloodbath. Though the buy rate for the PPV was low all the wrestlers that competed put on a hell of a show. This is their reward. Shane is staying on the 8th floor of the 10 story luxury hotel. Narrator: Shane won and lost a Bloodbath. He won against Brandon Sinclair, which secured him the Unified Title. He lost to Travis Smith, which has only forced Shane's rage further to the surface. Some people would say that eventhough Shane lost to Travis, Travis never won. Shane's problems with Travis have led the "Natural Wonder" to do some strange things. Dousing himself with blood he stole from a donation clinic seems, only, to be the start of what he is being pushed to. If the CWF management wasn't so wrapped up in worrying about Smack and the CWO they might have thought twice about putting Shane on the 8th floor. Something a little closer to the ground would have been better. Shane, currently, isn't in his room, in a manner of speaking. He's standing on the ledge outside. He's not intending to commit suicide, the thought never even crossed his mind. This is just another step in the exploration of Shane's dark side. Shane: I strap it around my waist. I carry it over my shoulder. I house it in a glass case. CWF's Unified Title comes to rest in my hands. When people look at the stone that Brandon's name is etched on, as being the first Unified Champion, they are going to look down and see mine second. You can't be king forever. There is always someone wanting your throne and, eventually, they're going to get it. The "Year of the Natural Wonder" has just stepped past the "Era of Brandon Sinclair", funny how one year can make all the difference. Shane stands on the 4-foot ledge. His Doc Martin boots toe the edge of open air. Skaters, cargo, shorts and a black T-shirt complete his image. If anyone, on the ground, was able to clearly see what's written on his shirt they might get a little laugh. Narrator: Though Shane is going through a difficult period in his life he doesn't seem to have lost his sense of humor he's become so famous for. Crossed out on Shane's shirt is
Diablo's trademark Shane stands with his feet planted firmly on the ledge. He leans on the outer wall of the hotel. He may be standing out on a ledge 8 floors up, but he's not stupid. He's not going to lean out over and chance a gust of wind giving him the momentum enough to slip and fall. Shane: This isn't any kind of suicide attempt, far from it. It's a new perspective on an increasingly restricting world. What people don't seem to understand is that there are more dimensions to the world than they realise. Everything that they do changes the look of things around them, they are just too narrow minded to see it. I've never seen the world from 8 floors up, things are really different from up here. It makes me realise that I'm not the biggest thing on earth but standing up here makes me feel like I am. Several feet away is Shane's room, the window stands wide open. Laying on the window sill is Shane's newly aquired Unified Title. Narrator: Some would find it strange that Shane isn't carrying the CWF Title with him, out on the ledge. After all he went everywhere with his ICWA Title. It was something he loved, almost more than life it's self. Psychologists might think that the reason that Shane left the CWF Title laying on the window sill is subconscious. They would probably say it's a symbol of Shane stepping out, beyond the CWF Unified Title. Shane: You issued a challenge, Travis. A good ol' school yard brawl at Tourament of Champions. I accept, but I think you already knew that. Let me ask you something Travis. Did it surprise you? Did it surprise you that I would give in? You did everything in your power to end me. You strapped on that hold and hoped to see me tap. Didn't happen did it? So what do you do, you try and cause me a loss in my next match. Didn't work did it? Strange how things sometimes turn out the way they do. You must be getting a little frustrated with me Travis. As much as your trying to destroy me I just keep finding ways to stay alive. You have the ace, you have my family, but your hand is worthless if you don't have a few more cards. Shane moves from his leaning position on the wall to a crouching position. Look at Shane the new stance he's taken almost mimic's that of Batman. He's standing on the balls of his feet, his heels raise. His arms are resting on the tops of his knees. He looks down at the people on the sidewalk and street below him. Shane: Dredd Pierce. Explaine to me why your fighting me. Your a decent tag team wrestler, but this isn't a tag team match. There isn't someone you can tag in when your winded. You don't have the abilities, yet, to be a singles competitor. I find it funny that you are facing me in this match. Why? I'm not degrating you abilities but why go after the man on top if you don't even know what a one on one confrontation involves. The title may not be on the line but my pride is. I know you don't want to hear this but it's over before it began. Unless this is some elaborate set up to try and trap me in something then I would tell you to not even bother showing up. I'll give you a few dollars and you can go ride the bus all day. When it comes time to wrestle me you can just stay on the bus and ride it on past the arena. A sparrow lands on the ledge, it stands only a few inches away from Shane. Narrator: What must that bird be thinking? It knows this ledge, it's spent a lot of time here, after all what else does it have to do? I knows that Shane is out of place, that he doesn't belong here. Can this sparrow do anything about it? No, it just a stupid sparrow. Shane: I've recenty thought about changing my theme music. I've had the same theme since the ICWA, since day one. Seeing as how I'm now a CWF Champion I think it's time for a change. On Monday when the "Natural Wonder" steps out from the curtain it's not going to be to Creed and Higher, it's going to be to The Presidents of the United States of America and Cleveland Rocks. If there is one thing that I want everyone to remember about me when my time in the CWF is over it's that I'm from Cleveland. I don't care if I'm not known for the titles I've held or the people I've fought. I want people to know about Cleveland. In my mind it's the greatest city on earth and I'm proud to be from it. I'm a patriotic American but if I was asked which I'm more devoted to my city or my country, for me it's a no contest. Cleveland Rocks. The sparrow inches closer to Shane. It gets close enough to touch him. Shane slowly turns his head and look down at the sparrow. Shane: So Smack is back and he's brought some friends. Excuse me if I don't clap. The CWO is way for Smack to try and redeem himself. He feels that creating a new federation is going to bring back the fame that he let slip away. He wants the old CWF back, it's more than obvious. His only problem is that he can't get it back. It's like the ICWA. I wanted it to stay alive. Even when I joined the CWF all I talked about was the ICWA. If you look at my early CWF record I lost everyone of my matches for the first month and a half. It was then that I realised that it was gone. No more ICWA. I had to stop living in the past. So what did I do, I won the ICWA Title from Joe. Seems ironic, doesn't it. I won that title and I carried it to evey CWF show and event. I was part of the CWF, a member of it's roster. My 6 month ICWA Title reign was my way of saying good bye. Why not let the company die with a little dignity? That's what I did, I let it die in a way that every person who was ever part of it could be proud of. Why not do the same Smack? The sparrow looks up at Shane. It turns it head as if it's curious about Shane. It quickly breaks away from looking at Shane, long enough to peck a couple of time at his shoe before it jumps off the ledge and flies away. Shane watches it fly out over the city. Shane: Off it goes as I crouch here on this ledge, thinking about going back in. A final shot of Shane, in his Batman crouch before the scene fades to black. |