ON CAMERA
The scene opens inside Adam Stryker’s house. We see Adam sit in an armchair, dressed in jeans and “Free Bearhugs” t-shirt, drinking beer.
“Initiative PPV in Tampa, Florida will be a night full of opportunities. At least for the man you see standing in front of you, Adam Stryker. Because I get to finish the job that I started at High Stakes, hell, maybe even longer time ago. First off… I get to finish Schmied. Some time ago, me and John Pariah had the privilege of being those who handed him his first defeat, but it was a little tainted as it was 2 on 1 when Darin Zion got injured and pretty much left out of the match. This time, in Tampa, I get Schmied one on one, and I am dead set on bringing the monster to his knees and firing the final shot right between his eyes. And then, in the main event… I get my revenge against John Ojeda…
Is it even a revenge? Maybe it would be better if I’d called it “settling the score”, because I hold no grudge against Wrath, really… it’s just that the last time we met, I had him beat, I had him locked in The Shallow End and the only thing that saved him was the clock ticking down. This time, it will be different, because I will get a full hour to rip the World Championship from your hands, John. And all respect aside, I will do anything and anything to get the fucking job done.
But these are, surprisingly, not my only opportunities for Initiative. In the end, I may very well end up wrestling 3 matches a night, if myself and John Pariah qualify for the Tag Team Championship match against Mascara Muerto.”
Stryker takes few sips of the beer and continues.
“John Pariah, it’s been some time… two months, exactly, since we last tagged. Needless to say, our run in the PWX Tag Team World Cup was not a success really. But the team that beat us became the new PWX World Tag Team Champions in the end, which proves two things… first, we weren’t defeated by any flavour of the month idiots, and second… I was proved wrong. That rarely happens these days, so you two masked guys should be proud of that. I thought of you as of two guys who could not even beat a team of a truck driver and his fat brother back in HEW, but you guys have gone a long way eversince that. Congratulations.
Anyway… I do want that tag team title match at Initiative. It may sound stupid, but I don’t give a fuck about having to wrestle three matches in one night, it wouldn’t be the first time. I said once that I want to be THE star of PWX, which I intend to prove and fulfill. And I can’t be the top dog if I don’t win the titles. The PWX World Tag Team titles need a hella lot prestige. Just take a look at them, they were vacant for half a fucking year before Mascara Muerto won them! Long gone are the days when the true superstars united to chase those belts, long gone are the times of C-4, Hollywood Boyz, Kings Among Men or Sex and Money. I want to bring those good old times back by winning the PWX World Tag Team Championship alongside John Pariah.
This Wednesday, we go into war against several different kinds of competitors…”
A smirk comes across his face, as he realises Troy Stone enters the match alone.
“House of Stone sent surprisingly only one representative into that match. The leader himself, Troy Stone. Troy, kid, I can’t wait to finally lay my hands on you. I didn’t get the chance when you were the World Champion, I don’t get the chance to do it one on one, but this will definitely suffice. Because there is a sweet price for me when I grab you by that greasy blond hair of yours and throw you halfway across the ring. And the price is beating that fucking ego out of you. I get it, you’re a successful handsome youg dude with a pretty good looking girlfriend, but that gives you no fucking right to act like you’re a god among men, you sleazy little motherfucker. You don’t deserve to be in the same ring with the actually talented wrestlers, and believe me when I say, stepping on your own into the ring filled with three killer teams is only signing a paper for getting your shit kicked.
Then, we have Vox Populi. I gotta say, as much as I don’t like neither of the team’s members, I have some respect for them. Both Elijah Black and Daniel Everett know the thing that is most important in our business – how to win a match. So yeah, Vox Populi are definitely a team that I would pay to see if I was a wrestling fan. But I have two major problems with them… one, the name of the team is Vox Populi, which means The Voice of the People… but listening to their words, I believe that they say things they wanna hear, not the people. People don’t want two egotistical quasi-anarchistic douchebags to be their voice. Not at all… the second thing is my problem with Elijah Black. Last June, when me and Elijah met one on one for the only time and the World Championship was on the line, I had him pinned after a Death Valley Driver. The fans counted to three, and hell, they could count to a hundred, but there was no referee around to make it official. I was confused because of that and in the end, I lost. And not only I had to wait for over three quarters of a year to get another shot at the World Championship… I never had the chance to wrestle Elijah Black one on one again. I’m more than ready to show him that one on one or with five other men in the ring, I am better than him…
And then, finally, we have Bad Company…”
Stryker smirks again, taking few sips of the beer.
“Seriously, I was surprised that they didn’t win the belts at High Stakes. Because, and no offense to the champs Mascara Muerto or to my tag partner and friend John Pariah, I think they are the team with the best chemistry in the whole PWX. I have nothing but respect for both of them, because Jason is my oldest friend here in this company and Tristan is one of the best and most successful wrestlers of the modern era of PWX. But, just like with Stone and Vox Populi… I have a lot to prove. One thing is, I have never beaten Nighthawk. Be it in tag team matches or in one on one encounters, we have always had matches that went down in history, but I don’t recall beating him. That is on my To Do List on one of the top spots, and I inted to cross it off the list soon. The other thing is, Jason Aries and I have a very interesting history. Everyone knows that my match with Jason at the UWL supershow was the thing that got me into PWX, but our relationship was complicated to say the least. Even if we were teammates in The Untouchables, we didn’t really see eye to eye, at least until last Fall when I finally proved to Jason that I am a man that he can trust. And now… now I want to prove another thing, and that is that I can beat Jason in the ring. I’ve done it before, but I think me and him have a neutral record in the PWX ring. And somebody needs to cut through the knot, right?
This Wednesday in San Antonio, me and John Pariah join forces once again. The Kings put their crowns on and take out their swords to show all the peasants just why the sit on the throne. And no matter if the peasants are good or evil… they have to fall. Live by the sword, die by the sword.
See you in San Antonio.”
He slides his thumb across his throat in the typical taunt and the scene fades to black.
Adam Stryker - professional wrestler 