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| Date of RP: 02/18/03 Current Record: 9/1/3 Current Accomplishments: IWF Heavyweight Champion |
~~Darkness...inky black darkness is all we
find as the camera slowly fades into a promo. There is a voice,
somewhere off where we cannot see it. We also hear the chiming of
what sounds like metal being clinked together. There are many
things running through the heads of IWF fans...will the IWF survive its
sudden loss of wrestlers? Will the IWF ever truly become that
which it once was? Is our champion, Krev MacDougan, truly
champion material?~~ VOICE1: And that's what ya gotta do. It may not be "right", and it sure as hell isn't "fair", but its what you gotta do if you want to survive. You catching my drift? Yeah, people aren't going to like it...but if you tried to live your life making everyone happy, there is one key individual you aren't making happy, my old friend...yourself. ~~He says that he is, but there is a lot of doubt. He lost to Ebdon, the man he claimed could never beat him. He failed to show up for his last match against Jaxx, the man that could very well have taken away his prized title. He claims that he's in it for the people, to give the title meaning...but his acts of late have been selfish. He hasn't given a damn about anyone other than himself of late. Yeah, he got money now...but that never changed him before. Yeah, he's been at the top of federation food chains before, and it hasn't changed him...but he's never had both at the same time. Is it too much? Will it truly change him, making him worse than Pete Ebdon could ever have been?~~ VOICE2: I don't know if I can do that...I mean, I don't want to, well, I....it's just that if I did do it- ~~Some say yes it will...some say that it has already happened. Where is he going with the title? Surely, there are evils inside of the man that the world embraced as their champion, their hero, their man against all odds...there is evil deep down inside fighting its way up...trying to cling onto the glory from a body that has found it's limits. True, he cannot feel pain...he is the man who cannot feel pain...but all that means is that he'll go on fighting until he passes out, or the pain is so great that he can actually feel it. Where does that leave our hero? Is he going to have to resort to making others feel pain before he does?~~ VOICE1: ...you would become like me? Is that really all that bad? You've done it before, what makes this time different? Do you want to keep ahold of it or not? Or do you want to live your pitiful existance the man that took the gold, but then just couldn't stack up when the fire hit the kitchen? Are you going to let those worthless sacks of shit make you crumble? ~~He's done it before...we've all wrestled wtih the evil inside of us. Some of us let it take over, becoming, in the eyes of fellow men, nothing more than angry and vengeful beasts, bent on forcing the world to their whim. Others have become not so much tyranical dictators, but rather simple-minded monsters with only the will to surive...and the idea that to survive, all opposition must be taken out. We've seen the first from KMD as the feared NAIR-0 "Corporate Enforcer", and we've seen the second as the even more feared "Berserker". Where is KMD going? Has the trend burned itself out? Has he finally found balance, peace...even if it is at the bottom of a bottle of alcohol?~~ VOICE2: I can't let that happen...I won't let that happen. ~~In a way, he has...but there are always his demons struggling to gain control. He isn't as balanced as he may seem...we've seen him flip out for no reason whatsoever...we've seen him turn the other cheek as well...but what lays in store for the IWF? What will come of the federation itself? Will KMD truly destroy the federation because he believes that no one is worthy of his consideration? Of his praise?~~ VOICE1: Good, good...now we're getting somewhere. Now we'll truly see what KMD is capable of...are you aware of what Krev actually means? ~~Every moment that KMD thinks about these things, he finds flaws in his fellow men, believing them to be lesser men, men not worthy of holding a title in his federation...the federation that he built and funded with Holliday. He's protective of it, no doubt, but is it really necessary? Is there any truth behind his beliefs? Are these men not worthy of their titles? Is Krev even worthy of his title?~~ VOICE2: No. ~~Naysayers will say that he isn't, and that this ego-centricism will only destroy the IWF. They feel that KMD will drive out everyone in the federation because they don't fit his mold as to what a true champion is...these are the new blood, the men not yet fully proven. He has already seen the old faces leave the IWF...the men that he could have considered worthy...is that what is driving him to madness? Is the world that he knew crumbling around him, and will he fiddle away on his own high-horse as Rome burns?~~ VOICE1: It's Czech for "Blood", Krev. It is in your nature to do what you must do. You are the vitae, you are the life force of the IWF, and, until those heretics understand this, they are nothing. You are all that matters right now...if you fail, the IWF fails. You don't want that. Thus comes the reign of the leader...the truly powerful KMD. Do you believe in the teachings of the Italian political philosopher Machavelli, Krev? ~~He just may...it is better to see the thing he loved destroyed by his own hands, rather than by the hands of men that truly don't deserve it. He's forced the close of the IWF in the past...maybe that is what is truly burning Ebdon right now...maybe that is why Ego Trip is trying to get a hold in the IWF, and why the fed-heads have denied his investment of money...rather than see KMD have more control, more power, more say in the IWF, they want it for themselves, otherwise KMD could do the same again...close down the fed and destroy that which they are trying to rebuild. But one curiosity remains...why did they allow him to run the House of Pain? Why are they giving him the power to mess with the health and welfare of the entire federation in a series of matches that may prove fatal to someone without the lack of control that is needed, and is, thus far, not being shown in the creation of the IWF's most hellacious events ever broadcasted?~~ VOICE2: ...a leader must be willing to burn eternally in hell for the sins that must be done for his nation to prosper? I've never really considered myself such a tyrant... ~~Maybe because it is their only chance...sure, they will re-create hell on earth to prosper...but at what cost? The HoP has destroyed men in the past, and created blood fueds that lasted years...but is it truly worth it? Are they willing to let Krev act as God for one night...just at the off-chance that a major network would take interest in the once prosperous federation that ruled the airwaves like all the greats? Is this their last chance? Is it worth it?~~ VOICE2: ...but I'm willing to do it if it is needed. ~~No one really knows, and only time will tell. The IWF may be in a shitty position, having roster numbers lower than that of the start, and having one single solitary stable rise from the ashes of a fued that destroyed two others...a stable, Ego Trip, that occupies nearly half of the roster. The Tru$t rose from the ashes of the IWF, the crumbled remains that Holliday and Sensation dug up and tried to breathe life into...just to make sure of the proper placement of it's champions, it's future rulers...it's future...dictators. The Anti-Trust rose to rally against the old regime, trying to carve out its place in the IWF among the Gods...the new blood looking for nothing more than a foothold to catapult themselves into the limelight...but, ultimately, they failed. The remains of that fued? One man as IWF Heavyweight champion, and the only other remaining faction member the new IWF Commissioner...once ally to the Champion, now turned bitter and hateful enemy. It has destroyed men getting where he is, but KMD is willing to go through hell and back just for that taste of glory and victory. He is willing to deny everyone their darkest, deepest desires, so that he may quench his thirst...no, lust for power and control. Will he be able to survive? Will he subsist on what is left of the carnage?~~ VOICE1: Good...good. I'm glad to see my recent project hasn't lost his will. You had me worried the other day...I thought you surely were sorry for what you did. We can't have that...not from our Scottish Blood-Warrior. They say blood is thicker than water, after all... ~~He will...and more.~~ VOICE2: ...and you always protect your blood. VOICE1: Exactly. ~~But what of the rest of the federation? WIll they answer his call...he control? Can they contend with what KMD has become? Will they ever truly be able to conquer what KMD has become? He isn't an evil man...not by a long shot, but what are his intentions? Will his control destroy the fed that he loves above all else?~~ VOICE1: What about MacDougan Entertainment? VOICE2: It's all good...we are stronger than ever, and we are starting to generate money...lots of money. I never thought that Mike would be able to do what he has done, but he did it...he became the ASW TV Champion, and he has become 1/2 owner of the Corporation. The benifits from him alone make up a large portion of our income...and, for this, we are very, very thankful. It is only a matter of time before we see the same income generated from the IWF. ~~It is a delicate matter, best left for the judgement of time. What it really, really depends on, above all else, is the will and determination of the rest of the federation. It cannot truly die if they don't let it...KMD, in this sense, is powerless. All he can do is drive and strive onward, in search of the perfect couple of men to call his champions. As long as there is determination and willpower in the hearts of men, there may yet rise someone KMD deems worthy of the titles. And, until that moment arives, the course of time is already set...there is no turning back now, only trekking on into the future of a cold and harsh landscape. Hazzards may abound, but when will there ever be a time when it is all safe and dreamy, the stuff of Utopian lore?~~ VOICE1: Excellent. With the power of money, you can have the power of change. With the power of change, the IWF will be able to pull itself out of the bingo halls it haunts...I'm sick, as I am sure you are, of this half-hearted image of the IWF. If only they would allow a few of our funds to trickle into their pockets... VOICE2: Beyond funding the HoPIII.... VOICE1: ...our grasp will lengthen, reach it's full potential. THEN...then, the IWF will truly reclaim it's prior greatness. Shadows of what we once were is no way to run a federation. Why do they not understand this? We will never draw the big names if we remain destroying ourselves in the squalor of the paupers and beggars of the backwood shithole bingo halls. Rednecks make fine mindless followers....er, fans, rather...that will follow whatever we say or do to the word. They are like loyal dogs, in that matter. VOICE2: I'd rather not think of them like that- ~~There is never a time like that. To think thuswise is foolish and ignorant. No one is ever truly ever happy in this business...no one has found peace here. It is a sport...a business...that thrives on being bigger, better, and more accessable to get their message out. Drawing fans is like drawing flies...you need to make a big stink to ever get any real numbers of them...put on display talent and entertainment as potent as a 3 day old roadkill tanning itself in the sun.~~ VOICE1: Don't fool yourself, you know as well as I do that, in the end, they are wastes of space. The only good that comes of them is when, like obedient slaves, they open their pocketbooks. VOICE2: ... ~~And, slowly, as we faded into nothing more than whispers and sounds, we fade out again...to the silence that surrounded us before the break in peace.~~ ~~The peace is broken once more, coming upon the furrowed brow of KMD in his biker leathers, on a cell phone, in a remote back-corner of some bar somewhere in the heart of Florida. The crowd is one of a silent, mid-day hum, going about their lunch hours wishing not to be disturbed. He nods to the phone, taking a long drink from a glass of water.~~ KMD: Well, congradulations on your achievement. I always knew you could do it, my son...I just didn't think it would come this fast. Being a undefeated champion, and sacking a title in 3 weeks is an accomplishment worthy of respect and admiration. ~~Krev nods to the voice on the other end.~~ KMD: You're right...and, yes, you should be on the guard now. You went through your division so fast and furious that there remains no one but yourself...but, like all things, those spots will slowly fill back up, and, like hungry dogs, there will always be those prowling around the table looking for dropped scraps. Fewer still will be those who will rise up and try to take their seat at the table. That is your biggest concern now. ~~Krev nods again, taking a swig of water and noticing the camera.~~ KMD: As do I. I should get going...I'll talk to you later. Goodbye. ~~KMD hands up the phone and places it on the table, taking a deep breath. He turns to the camera.~~ KMD: ...like hungry dogs prowling around underneath the table looking for dropped scraps. Ebdon, you're back to the kiddie table...but Jaxx...Jaxx...you have a match against me, do you not? You are going to try to take your place, the place that you feel is your rightful place at the table of champions, and try to eat with the big dogs...the men who rule the federation. Yes, it is a nice feeling indeed...and, of course, this place is perhaps the one that has the best of the best when it comes to the lavish banquets. It is at the head of the table...it is the place where the champions look up to and wish, deep down, no matter how much they enjoy where they are at now...they wish they were here. Everyone in the federation, and, although not necessarily a high claim with the low numbers the IWF calls it's own...everyone wants to be KMD. Everyone wants what KMD has, what KMD enjoys. Hell, has I been in a lower position, not showing up last week could have cost me the title I hold...but, no...these things aren't tossed around as lightly as you may wish they were, are they? The Heavyweight title is not something to be given out...it is something that must be fought for...and, this week, you get your chance to go against the best of the best...the Zenith in what has been called the culmination and evolution of the man known as KMD...the Steel City Killing Machine...the Pennsylvania Pittbull...The Berserker...The King of Legends himself...you get to take me on, one-on-one in a feeble attempt to usurp the ruling class of the once-great Empire known as the IWF and claim the largest prize in the game as your own...crowning yourself the Emperror of the Empire. But, we can't let you do that, can we? ~~Krev takes another long swig from the glass and smiles.~~ KMD: No...no we cannot. If I were to allow that, I would not be who I am. I am KMD, I am the best that the IWF has to offer, despite what you may think or feel...and, I know deep down, you know it as well. Doubt it, deny it, package up all those thoughts and ideas and toss them out with the trash...but, regardless of what may be running through your peanut-sized brain, the fact remains that I am at the top for a reason. Many times I find a little bit of myself in every wrestler, every young man with the hopes of becoming the best of the best- ~~KMD pauses, looking away for a moment, and then winking at the camera.~~ KMD: But I find none of that in you. I see a man...nothing more than a boy, really...who claims that he deserves my spot, deserves to be where I am. I see a boy who is riding on the wake that Pete Ebdon creates and trying to rise to the top. I see nothing more than a ladder for Pete Ebdon...someone to knock me around a bit and try to cut me down...wear me out, break me down, so that the scavenger known as Ebdon will have something that he can use against me...have some way of attaining that which he has failed to do before. Yeah, he beat me...more specifically, he and Windsor beat me...but what do you have, Jaxx? Do you have anything to back you up? Sure, you may have Ebdon behind you...that's all well and fine...but to what ends? Are you willing to act as a puppet until Ebdon can take the place that he believes, despite what you may think Ego Trip means, that belongs to him? Are you willing to act as nothing more than the extension of a man who cares little for anything or anyone beyond his own sphere of power? You're a tool, Jaxx. Nothing more, nothing less. ~~He slowly rises out of his chair and begins to pace around in the back-end of the bar.~~ KMD: But don't confuse my accusations to be discrediting you. Quite the contrary...I see in you something I could admire in a person...yeah, a little naive, but alltogether persistant. You truly believe that you could be champion...you truly believe you would do a good job. And I, although I don't hand out credit that much, think that there may be something there...I think that, with a little bit of pruning and fine-tuning, you could be an excellent champion...moreso than Pete Ebdon. Hell, I'd rather see you as a champion than Ebdon. You lack the harshness and brutality that lies deep within the heart of that man...and, through your nature, you remain, more or less, pure. You may be a good fit...but, where you are at now...I cannot allow it. You want to take from me that which I hold close to my heart...not the metal, that is truly useless, but the knowledge and the power that is derived from holding the title of the IWF Heavyweight Champion. You could, in your own right, become something to be feared and respected...much more than Pete Ebdon could ever be. ~~Krev chuckles as he sits back down.~~ KMD: I'm talking about the title as if it is some sort of gift from God...as if it is the divine right of kings and a manifest destiny. Colonies and territories be damned, the title is much, much more than that, my friend. Behind it's shiny exterior lies a man that, despite the odds and despite the hype, is needed to lead a federation to greatness. A federation will not prosper in the hands of a fool. And that is the point we have come to...under my reign, we have already seen the slow, agonizing death of the IWF. I thought of myself as the true champion, the man that would bring the federation out of the throes of despair. Thus far, I have not done much to make it prosper...this is something I've been contending with...but my reign has been only short. It hasn't even been a month...things like this take time and patience...and I'm willing to put in the time and patience required to make this federation prosper. Are you able to do the same? ~~He pauses, taking a sip of water.~~ KMD: I said it before...no, I don't think you can. I said the same of Ebdon. But the real kicker is, although I see a little something admirable in Pete Ebdon, I see much more in you. I see a man who has not lost focus of what is important...even if you can't see or understand it, your vision is not clouded by the red haze of war and bloodshed that clouds Ebdon's vision. He sees the world from only on perspective, and that makes him a danger not only to me, but to you, his team mate, and the entire federation. He is the Imperial Champion, a title that, although still powerful in it's own right, is only second-rate. He is the duke going against the king, trying to gain control for himself...but, unlike a duke, he has no future behind him. He is not interested in creating a legacy that will live on long after he is gone, but rather a cut and dry shortcut to the lustful need for power of his own. He feels that the only way he can ever make an impact is through the attainment, and, of course, the destruction of yours truly. He feels that when KMD is out of the way, the federation is his for the taking...that he will be able to gain control and notch up another victory and add another belt to his wall that will prove not only to him, but the rest of the world, that he is a rightful God walking among men. I see otherwise. ~~KMD pushes aside the glass of water, clutching the table and staring straight into the lens of the camera.~~ KMD: What I see is nothing more than a pauper looking to prove to the world that he is not worthless, that he is much more than a mender and stitcher of sails...he is equating the skills of making a pair of pants with the ability to create a massive and powerful sea-worthy fleet of warships. He may have the will, but he doesn't have the skill. KMD: But you, Jaxx....much different set of circumstances. I see in you someone that recognizes their place in society, and will strive to better themselves through those downfalls and setbacks that would otherwise render a man useless. It is all pretty, flowery talk...I know. But I feel I'm in a sort of verbose mood. I feel that I can pepper my talk with metaphors and similes, ideas and concepts beyond the normal realms of "I'm gonna beat your ass and feed it back to you" and "You're dead, honky boy." I can add a little substance to otherwise normal trash-talking, not only because I am champion, but because it makes sense. It gives substance to a bunch of concepts that would be lost in the murky underground of slang and swearing. Yelling a lot does not invoke fear in a person, Jaxx...getting inside their head, relating things in a matter to which a person understands and even begins to draw conclussions, and identifying with the common nature in all things...those are the achievements of a thinking man...a man that should be feared above all else...the dog with the biggest bark isn't necessarily the strongest of the cleverest. ~~Krev looks up at the ceiling, speaking out to the camera.~~ KMD: Machiavelli said that lions are killed by hunters because they are not clever, and foxes because they are not strong. A ruler should be one that is both as strong as a lion, and as clever as a fox. If you don't live out to those factors, you will easily be dominated. I once worked with a man that went by the name TANK. He was literally that...he was, for all intensive purposes, the lion...one of the strongest and most powerful men I knew...but he had a horrible weakness. He would attain something spectacular, although acting as nothing more than a pawn, but he would then lose it...simply because he lacked the ability to be clever. I also knew many men who were very, very weak in the ring, but made their way through federations by scheming and plotting...figuring out exactly when to strike. That was all well and fine, and, many times, they rose to great heights because of that...but they lacked the strength of lions. They would crumple under the pressure of an opponent that would not allow them to escape, and opponent who had cornered them, hunted them down, and destroyed them...they all failed because, as Machiavelli said, they lacked the strenght of lions and the cleverness of foxes. Where do you stack up, Jaxx? KMD: Ask yourself that. Any fool can follow another fool to greatness...any fool will allow themselves to be manipulated to the point of being nothing more than a puppet. There is a war coming, Jaxx...are you sure you're on the right side? ~~Krev leans back in the chair, looking back to the camera.~~ KMD: Of course you are...you're with Ebdon, right? If you're thinking that way, move along, and leave me to my title. You're not worth my time if you don't give it any thought. I gave Ebdon the same chance, and he threw it away. Don't make the same mistake he did...those are not the actions of a true champion. Those are the actions of a blind fool. ~~He leans forward, getting a little closer to the camera.~~ KMD: Tomorrow I face you. Tomorrow you get the shot you deserved last week. We'll see how things play out, and we'll see how you handle the pressure. Don't bring Ebdon...he's likely to cause you as much harm as good. I'll leave anyone I could bring in out of it as well...I want to give you the chance you deserve...I want to give you the chance to ascend to greatness on your own accord. I have faith that someday you can do it...only time will tell if it is tomorrow you prove to me that you truly are great. ~~He gets even closer to the camera.~~ KMD: Show me the Canadian lad who thinks he can be the Champion, and I'll show you the man who can beat him...and his name starts with a K, ends with a D, and has a whole lot of madness with a capital M somewhere in the middle. ~~Krev taps the camera with his hand, jostling it slightly. We fade to black as KMD leans back in his chair, grinning ear-to-ear.~~ |
