MONDAY NIGHT METAL S01/E15 11/04/19

Open to a shot of a black backdrop with the APW logo splashed across it; a large flat-screen television mounted to a steel framework dominates the foreground. Mike Clearwater, dressed in a gray sport coat and jeans, stands nearby with a mic in hand.

Clearwater: Thanks for joining us tonight, APW faithful! We’re back from Chernobyl, where the fine men and women of Alpha Pro Wrestling gave everything they had to bring you the very best in brutality, the finest in ferocity, the most select savagery -- where depths of depravity were plumbed and new champions crowned! And the action doesn’t stop there, wrestling fans! Tonight, we’ll be joined by a number of competitors to give us their thoughts on the events of HorrorKore, and to look ahead, to OMEGA! So without further ado, let’s get to our first segment!



The scene opens backstage at APW just as HorrorKore goes off the air. Jackson is heading towards the parking garage with his entourage. As he turns and heads down the corridor he walks past Spartan. Smirking and chuckling under his breathe, Jackson feels as if Spartan is mocking him.

Jackson: “You know if you have something to say you piece of shit then say it. If not then keep your dumb ass chuckles to yourself cause last I knew you didn’t have a great outcome either.”

Spartan: “Look bro, gangster, or whatever you think you are. Your hood ways don’t frighten me and this talk about how you are this ruthless kingpin don’t mean shit here in APW. This is my house and my playground. So get used to be what we call second best. Hahaha!”

Jackson walks closer and stares deep into Spartans eyes, smirking he brushes off Spartans shoulders and just walks away. Heading towards the garage the camera catches a glimpse of Jackson and his eyes look as if he has bad intentions. Moments later Spartan is walking to his vehicle in the garage. Smoking a cigar he gets within 5 ft of his car before a black SUV rolls up to him. Before he could react he is hit with a clubbing forearm straight to the face. The figure somehow hides his face from the cameras in the garage while he beats on Spartan. With a hood on and a mask covering his face, the man keeps pounding on Spartan. He then lifts Spartan and drops him with a spinebuster on a random car smarting the glass. Spartan tried to fight back but he’s riddled with pain and covered with blood. The man stalks Spartan and then hits a running knee strike to his face while leaning against the car. The sound of the strike echoes the garage. Dragging the lifeless body of Spartan to a standing position he hits him with the QCD (Sister Abigail) to the concrete floor. Spartans body doesn’t move. The man leans down taking off his hood. He whispers to Spartan and the camera picks it up...

Jackson: “Those voices in your head that told you the type of man I am, you should’ve listened to their every word. I am that guy that haunts your dreams. I am that guy you here about in the news. So fear me and everything I’m capable of doing. I will be your JUDGE, JURY, and EXECUTIONER!”

The man bends down grabbing the cigar of Spartan. He puffs on it and turns towards the cameras revealing himself as Voshon Jackson. The camera fades away......



Cameras cut back to Mike Clearwater, wearing a stunned look on his face.

Clearwater: Well, for weeks while he was the North American Champion, Spartan kept asking for a fight -- it looks like he’s found one in the “Ghost” Voshon Jackson! Jackson took on the infamous ZMAC in a shark tank scaffold match at HorroKore. He fought the battle of a lifetime, but in the end, came up a little short -- and almost ended his career as shark food! And Spartan himself found the challenge of Steven Osbourne just a little too much in a tables, ladders, and chairs match, where Osbourned ultimately claimed the prize. So one question remains: Is this a one-time incident, or could this have implications for OMEGA?

Next up, we go to the APW arena to hear from our newest signed competitor!




Flop hears his music playing.
Flop walks out onto the stage.
Flop has a microphone.

Flop says "Hello."

Flop waves to the crowd.

Flop says "Goodbye."

Flop turns around.
Flop walks away.


The image on the screen fades to black. Clearwater looks a little puzzled.

Clearwater: And that, apparently, was Flop, ladies and gentlemen. We’ll find out next week if his skills in the ring exceed his skills on the mic!

Clearwater puts a hand to his earpiece and listens intently for a moment, then flashes a professional smile at the camera.

Clearwater: Now for a special announcement about the World Title, we have Troy Butler standing by with General Manager Irina Ivanova!



The show comes back from commercial. Sitting in the studio are Troy Butler and Irina Ivanova.

Troy Butler: We’re back here with APW General Manager Irina Ivanova, who is about to reveal to the entire world the #1 Contender for the APW World Championship at Omega. Ms. Ivanova, take it away.

Irina Ivanova: Thank you, Comrade Butler. The first thing I want to say is…

She stops mid-sentence and looks off-camera. Butler sees this and looks in the same direction as her. Both of them are shocked by an unexpected guest. We cut to another camera and see that the guest is none other than Dean Wolf, wearing his “Kill ‘Em All” T-shirt, jeans, and leather jacket, his Hardcore Championship belt in his left hand, staring straight at Irina Ivanova.

Troy Bulter: Um, uh, Dean Wolf, we weren’t expecting to see you, but welcome!

He looks off camera at the production workers.

Troy Butler: Can we get a seat for Wolf, please?

Dean Wolf: [still looking at Irina but addressing Butler] Don’t bother. I just wanted her to have to look me in the face as she tells the world that somebody else besides me deserves to fight for the APW World Championship at Omega.

Irina does her best to not lose her temper as she calmly address the Hardcore Champ.

Irina Ivanova: Well, Comrade Wolf, why don’t you tell me why you deserve this honor?

Dean Wolf: Okay. How about the history I’ve made in the short time APW has existed? I was your first Hardcore Champion. I was your first overall champion in APW. And I achieved these distinctions by winning an anything goes match against half the APW roster. How about what I’ve done for my Hardcore Championship? Month after month, I’ve made my title the most prestigious title outside of the World Championship. How about the matches I’ve fought? I’ve fought in multiple Match of the Year candidates, competing against and defeating the best that APW has to offer. But it’s not just the big matches that I show up for. Each time I step into that ring, I give 110% and don’t take a night off against anybody. I give the same effort against guys like Bobby Beauregard that I give when I go up against guys like Spartan, ZMAC, Arthur Pleasant...and Smith Jones. And speaking of our World Champion, how about my record against him? Two wins, zero losses. Both times I’ve stepped into the ring with him, I’ve pinned his shoulders to the mat, 1-2-3. And if that fact doesn’t convince you to make me the #1 contender at Omega, then I’ll give you one more reason.

He takes a pause before making a declaration.

Dean Wolf: I’m the fucking best.

Irina looks at Wolf, taking in his words. She stays silent for a few moments. Then she turns her head and looks down at the ground.

Irina Ivanova: You know, Comrade Wolf, when you won the Arms Race Match at HorrorKore, I could not sleep on the flight back to the United States. In fact, I couldn’t even sleep when I came back to my home and laid down in my own bed. The fact that you came out of the Arms Race with the Hardcore Championship, and the thought of you winning the World Championship and being this company’s ambassador, just made me wild with rage. I could not rest my mind. Then, late one night, as I stared at the ceiling, desperate for rest, I began seeing a vision that set my mind at ease and finally allowed me to pass into slumber. I imagined how satisfying it would be for me if you, after overcoming all the trials and tribulations of your life, made it to the biggest match of your career and in front of the entire world...failed.

She smiles slightly.

Irina Ivanova: In the first promotional video you cut for this company, the one that I called “mewling” and led to our bad blood, you said that your career has been full of ups and downs and stops and starts; and while you have been quite successful in your time here in APW, I am not convinced that your career won’t stall one more time. In fact, I would bet money that you’ll find something to sideline your career again, just like you did when you got hooked on drugs and alcohol, or when you became the protege of Bernard Core and went to work in his school, or when you had your falling out with WCF management around this time last year and quit that company.

Her smile becomes wider.

Irina Ivanova: Every time you are on the verge of success in professional wrestling, you find some way to sabotage it and become an even bigger disappointment than you were before. I’m banking on that happening again. I wouldn’t be surprised if you cracked under the pressure before Omega and left APW entirely; but even if you do make it to Omega, I believe the expectations will cripple you, and you’ll fall by the hands of Comrade Jones, and that embarrassment will cause you to run away from APW and fade back into obscurity.

She finally looks up at Wolf.

Irina Ivanova: Your impulsivity has gotten the best of you again, Comrade Wolf. You got on a plane and came all the way here, to the APW Studios, because you believed I wasn’t going to name you the #1 contender and wanted me to look you in the eye when I named somebody else. Not only did you waste your money, but you wasted your time as well. I agree that you deserve to be the #1 contender, but that’s not why I’m going to give you the shot at Comrade Jones at Omega. I am naming you the #1 contender for the Alpha Pro Wrestling World Championship because I want to be there in person when you come so far...only to fail in the end.

Butler tries to ignore the personal nature of her announcement.

Troy Butler: Um, well there you have it folks. Dean Wolf is the #1…

Wolf holds up his hand in Butler’s direction while still looking at Irina.

Dean Wolf: Shut up.

Butler does as he’s told and cowers in his seat as Wolf slowly walks toward Irina. She gets out of her seat to meet him. They get as close as they can to each other without making physical contact. Wolf looks down at Irina. Irina looks up at Wolf. Both of them are breathing hard through their noses, like two bulls. The tension between them is more than palpable. Wolf speaks uncharacteristically low, almost in a whisper.

Dean Wolf: I’m going to win the World Championship at Omega, and I’m going to stay in APW as long as humanly possible just to give you more reasons to keep you awake, night...after night...after night.

He breaths menacingly through clenched teeth, almost shaking, while Irina continues to look up at him sternly and defiantly. The camera pans in on both of their faces before fading to black.



Clearwater: You heard it here first, wrestling fans! After the most grueling and potentially the most violent match in hardcore wrestling history, Dean Wolf secured a victory over Arthur Pleasant -- despite interference from Jon Favreau, Roy Choi, and a number of foreign diplomats -- to retain his Hardcore Championship once again! He met the conditions Irina set, and now he’s demanding the shot he was promised! Dean Wolf versus Smith Jones, this time with the APW World Title on the line! This is a main event you won’t want to miss! Next up, a man of traditionally few words has something to say!



<total destroyer is still bouncing around Pripyat like its a playground, jubilant after he killed a few people in the steel cage at the PPV; and since this week is just taped promos and such he wants to expound on his no 1 topic>

Congrats to the Wolf and the Zombie on showing pro wrestling that real fighting and honest violence is still possible .......

"I did the cage match just to show the APW members and fans in general that to have a stellar match you don't have to have it being about those ass-wiper pieces of tin that you get awarded, well, for no good reason ....... <he sees a spring with water and he leans over and takes a drink of it > 'But destroyer ... those belts show you're the greatest' and other bullshit .... <rolling his eyes as he mimics the average fan > Those belts don't show shit ..... Will people remember you in 50 years as having the great matches?? No, they wont ..... Will they line up in your honor when this place is dead and forgotten ? No they won't ..... Do those champs that was in the WCF mean anything now ? fuck no...All it means they get a few bucks more at the memorabilia table if they're lucky ..

Management and fed owners have had talent and fans drinking crazier shit than this water .. which isn't rated safe even for god himself .........

People need to wake up and throw off the tyranny of tinfoil -- so real wrestling can happen and people can take on challenges and not be grandmas wrinkly puss because they might lose their butt-wiper title belt ........

Will anyone heed my words? fuck no ...... but maybe someone will reach in his and her pink princess panties and take a real challenge and not care about titles money life or limb ......

A few like Wolf and McMorris will but there's more little bitches here than the little princess tea party i had to do cause i lost a bet in a match ..... let me say this ... pink tutus and destrpyers are an amusing sight .... But I was more manly and godly serving 7-year-olds tea and crumpets than most of the people in wrestling today........... heck there's women in the APW that has bigger balls than most of the males ........

Its time for a hardcore revolution and y'all need to step up .......

<he roars and takes off into the night to challenge untold horrors of the unimaginable kind >




Clearwater: Strong words. Destroyer making his intentions clear -- titles mean nothing. He’s got one thing, and one thing only on his mind; total destruction! But not everybody shares that mindset. Next up, we return to Troy Butler, standing by with rising star “Jazzy” John McCarty!



Troy Butler: Hello, I hope you're enjoying your Monday Night tonight, we are fresh from HorrorKore and tonight, I am catching up with 'Jazzy' John McCarty.

John: Good evening.

Troy: John, that was an impressive win over Alex Scott in Chernobyl, but now, where to from here?

John: Well, Troy, there is only one answer to that question, and the only way is up. I'm one of the best technical wrestlers in APW, if not, the world. Yet, I've only managed to capture the WCF Tag Titles. It's time I earned something more, something bigger...

...

John: I've got my eyes on the World Title.

Troy: ...the World Title? Why aim for something so big? Why not aim for the Junior Heavyweight Title or even the Hardcore Championship?

John: Troy... I'm worthy of the World Championship. I've shown these past few weeks that I am worth it. That I deserve this title shot. You said it yourself. I had an impressive win over Alex Scott in Chernobyl. There, I displayed some of my best technical work, including a Shooting Star Press.

...

John: Even the week before that, I was an a triple threat match to determine the number one contender for the World Championship. It was between myself, Zion Simmons and Zombie McMorris.

John: Zombie had his chance at Supremacy. He failed.

John: Zion had his chance at HorrorKore. He failed.

John: This leaves me. I've won 3 out of 4 of my last matches. I am the only person in that triple threat match to not have a shot at the title. It's my turn. It's my time. At Omega, I will be in that main event for the World Title.

John leaves.

Troy Butler: You heard it here first, back to you, Mike!




Clearwater: We certainly did! And nobody can deny that the Jazzman has been on a hot streak, his latest victory coming at HorrorKore when he vanquished Alex Scott in a Taipei Deathmatch! Is he ready for the biggest prize in wrestling? Not if our final guest has anything to say about it, as we hear from the APW World Champion himself, joining us LIVE via satellite from Toronto, Canada -- Smith Jones!




Fade up on a shot of the Toronto skyline as seen from somewhere out on the frigid waters of Lake Ontario. The choppy waves crash against the hull of the HMCS Incredible, Smith Jones’ recently acquired fifty-foot sailboat. Smith is dressed for the cold in his dark gray winter coat complete with black gloves and a gray Heritage Classic toque he’d collected in Regina the week before. The wind is high and the ride is not terribly smooth as Jones stands on the deck and stares at the CN Tower in the near distance. He is not quite expressionless, but his expression is not an easy one to discern. With a shivered inhale, he looks beyond the camera lens and he speaks.

Smith Jones: I hear you… out there chirping my name at the top of your lungs as often as possible. Even from all the way out here on these choppy waters, I hear you. You never stop. You’ve joined the cacophony of voices in my head that haven’t shut themselves up in years. I hear you, Wolf, howling with laughter at how easy it’s going to be for you to take my APW World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship from me at the final Alpha Pro Wrestling show of the year known appropriately as OMEGA.

Smitty: I’ve never beaten you, Dean. I can’t do it. Twice you’ve shocked me by stepping up a little higher than I thought you could and pinning my shoulders to the mat for the requisite timeframe to secure victory. Twice I’ve been unable to overcome you. I’m oh and two; you’re two and oh. And now, the stakes are turned all the way up like a Canadian trying to barbecue at minus thirty. This time… it’s for my World Championship. This time… it’s for the chance to carry The World Title into the next decade.

Jones’ eyes find the lens and his expression gravens to something more clearly recognizable. His eyebrows furrow and his scowl deepens. He grits his teeth and growls his words.

Smitty: That man is going to be ME. I am going to carry The World Title into the next decade and beyond! I hear you, Dean, spouting off about how you’re coming for my title. I hear you begging Reenie to see your point of view. I see it too, Dean. You have earned yourself a shot.

He turns and goes down a short flight of steps, opening the door to the warm cabin below. He fights the wind to slam the door shut. The interior is predominantly white, just like the exterior, just like his home, just like his ring gear. He walks over to a glass case on the wall wherein rests the championship belt. He opens the case and slings the belt over his shoulder, turning to find the camera again with a smug smirk.

Smitty: I’ve watched the recordings of those two matches of ours over and over again. I made mistakes when I fell victim to The Kill for the first time on Canada Day in Seattle. I made mistakes when you pinned me with an adept and technically perfect chicken wing counter out of my submission finisher The System last month! I always hit harder than I expect you to. You withstand more damage than I think you can every time. I didn’t fully appreciate you for the competitor that you are. I saw you as less than myself. I said it many a time. My approach must be different this time around. You are nearly superhuman and I still don’t know what specifically I’ll need to do to make you stay the heel down!!! I can no longer look at you as prey. You are the predator here. You’ve got my number and you have every reason to believe that you can beat me again. This time around, I need to be willing to go outside my comfort zone and do things that I’d never imagined myself doing. I need to go to darker corners within myself; the places even I fear to tread. I need to be willing to completely end you and leave you open and bleeding deep in the woods where no one will be coming by to find you out. I am the Alpha World Champion! That means I must do whatever it takes to walk out of this battle alive. I’m going to rip you open. I really do hate the sight of your putrid face, in truth. I’m tired of the sound of your voice. I’m sick of hearing people say your name to me like I owe them a song and dance every time they ask about you. You may be one of the greatest superstars in all of APW and I am done sharing the spotlight with you. I’m going to completely gut you this time. I am the face of this company, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be seen with your fresh blood dripping from my chin. Do I have what it takes to survive you, Dean? I guess it’s official. We will find out...

Fade to black. Smith whispers.

...at OMEGA.