Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2020 22:41:34 GMT -5
The scenes opens with a view of the inside of a church, an altar set center on a raised stage in the distance. Jayson Price slowly makes his way into the scene, ascending the steps and taking place behind the microphone.
Jayson Price: As I stand here in the house of God, having rid myself of the demons brought on by the nectar of the Devil, I find myself troubled by yet another addiction that has consumed me. Whether on not it's a test from above or a sign that I've lived a life more troubled than I could have ever known is inconsequential because, like my battle with alcoholism, I know that this a battle that I can win through sheer will power. And it all begins with admitting to myself, to God and to the world, that I have a problem with Corey Black that's ruined my life.
Price looks up to the heavens for a brief moment, his eyes closed as it appears his lips are slightly moving. He then looks back out at the empty pews.
Jayson Price: I've fought with this problem for years on my own, not wanting to accept help. But that was because I was allowing the other destructive vice in my life to give me false confidence in a power that I did not have. But now that I've rid myself of my dependency on alcohol and allowed my mind to clear, I feel my sanity being attacked from all sides by my rage and contempt for a fellow man. The alcohol numbed it, made it easy to ignore for the most part besides the random lashing out, but with it out of my system and my life, it's burning it's way through my brain hotter than the sun. And now, knowing that I have a divine presence on my side, it's time to face it head-on.
Price lets out a deep sigh before placing his hands flat on the altar in front of him.
Jayson Price: Corey we've known each other for a long, long time. You were there at the infancy of my career and have played a part in it, for better or worse, for over 11 years. At times you were the best friend that I had, occasionally even the only friend. But it seems that even more often you were the Moriarty to my Holmes, the Joker to my Batman. You and the world will disagree, I'm sure, but you enabled me. You encouraged me. You watched me self-destruct while all the while claiming to be my friend. No, you were never my friend. Not truly. But it no longer matters because I've found that I only need one true friend in this life and he's never going to turn his back on me.
Price taps his chest with his fist twice, kisses two fingers and then points to the heavens.
Jayson Price: I know that you'll scoff at me Corey. Everyone will. But everything that I am saying comes from a place that I didn't even know existed a few months ago. My soul. It's been cleansed along with my body and my mind and allowed me to look at myself in the mirror and see me for who and what I am. I know the wrongs that I've committed and I don't make any excuses for them. But you? You once pulled me out of a rehab facility for the sole reason of entering a Trios Tournament. I finally admitted to having a problem and checked myself into a hospital to get help and, because you felt your need for a partner was greater, organized a kidnapping and plied me with alcohol to get me back on the wagon so that you could use me. An absolutely despicable act, especially for such a self-righteous man.
Looking increasingly heated, Price's hands ball into fists on the altar.
Jayson Price: For all the things that I've done in my past, I can still look at you and see a man filled with evil. The alcohol, the drugs, the promiscuous behavior, the violence...all of it...I was as flawed a man as there was. My rage used to make me do things that are surely going to leave me melting in the bowels of hell for eternity. But the difference between you and me is that I've come to grips with who I used to be and am actively trying to turn around my life step by step so that I can enjoy whatever time I have left on Earth. You? I've spent enough time around you to know that you're never going to change, and if so not any time soon. It'd take a significant life event, possibly even a near-death experience, to open your eyes. Ruining my first shot at sobriety was the worst but certainly not the only transgression.
But I'm not going to stand here and list them all off one by one, Corey, you already know them by heart so it wouldn't make any sense. The thing that gets me though is, you'll point the finger at me and label me as the bad guy even now. I've completely reversed my behavior, became a better person and sought help that I desperately needed, and still you'll continue to judge me now for what I was. But when are you going to finally take a long look in the mirror and realize that you aren't the hero that you think you are? This story that you and I are living in right now, I know you choose to believe that you're the protagonist and that the world is going to get behind you, but they see you as I now do. It's time to take off the rose-colored glasses and start taking a good, hard look at yourself.
Price takes a few breaths to calm himself but he continues to look agitated.
Jayson Price: You spent over 20 years helping to build the WCF from the ground up and turning it into a powerhouse company, all the while building a legacy worthy of the place on it's Mount Rushmore. Then it closed. It was a sad day for all of us, I too felt the pain of losing a loved one. And then we all moved on to do other things. You decided to go to Action Wrestling and then here, Alpha Pro Wrestling. Why? I know the answer that you'll give, Corey. We both know it. But after 11 years I've learned a few things about you, King Of All Wrestlers. 20 years in the business and you still need to have your ego stroked. A little bit of vanity, a little bit of lust and a hearty dose of conceitedness all make for a man that should have ridden off into the sunset after WCF let out its final breath. Instead, you've taken up shop in the mid-card of a company, running roughshod over opponents that either couldn't make it to the top in WCF or I've never heard of. I'm supposed to take a company seriously when they somehow found a way to make Roy Speede relevant? For fu-
Price turns away from the altar and steps away to compose himself. After a rather lengthy talk with God, he turns back around and approaches the altar again.
Jayson Price: I apologize. Do you see what this does to me, Corey? Do you see what you do to me? I'm trying my hardest to fight the rage inside of me because I know it's the only way that I can continue to become a better person, yet I get so easily overcome by it when it comes to you. But still, I must apologize. I'm lashing out at others who don't deserve it, mocking wrestlers and entire companies who have nothing to do with this, and to them I am sorry. And to Frank Venable, I am sorry as well.
Frank, I am sorry that you were dragged into this at all. I am truly sorry about what happened to you a week ago. If I had it my way, you wouldn't be part of this because, honestly, you don't have a part in this. I know, it doesn't make a lot of sense to hear that seeing as how Seth and I showed up in APW and attacked you and got this Tag Team Title match. But the fact is, for me, you're not relevant in this match. I'm not disregarding you as a person, to be clear, but for me personally, you were just the guy that was in the arena at the time. This whole thing, the reason I'm here in the first place, is because I'm looking to get past my issues with Black so that I can become a better person. And since Action Wrestling isn't exactly rushing to give me a match against him, I had to come here. And to get to him, we had to take this match. You're just a pawn in this chess match between Black and me, and I apologize for what's going to happen to you because of that, but I need you to understand that it's necessary.
However, you're not totally innocent either, I suppose. Part of me looks at you and sees someone that Corey Black has sunk his claws into and is trying to ride for a few more years. He did it with me, he did it with others and now he's doing it with you. He's got you blind to his ways, Frank. He's got you thinking that you two are truly a team, heck he even dug up the old Man Made Gods name and slapped it on there. Did he make it out seem like that was a big deal? It's not bud, it's a farce. A smokescreen to distract you from the fact that he's got you fighting his battles for him when he runs into trouble he can't handle. And if you need a bigger sign that the MMG moniker means nothing, just look at the nearly quarter-ton pet project he's got dressed up like an anime character.
Price again turns around and walks away, clearly fighting internally to keep calm.
Jayson Price: Again, I'm sorry. I'm lashing out. But this isn't because I'm mad at you Frank, you're just in the wrong place at the wrong time again. And I'm sure you'll call me out for this, say that I'm crazy and that I'm just trying to create a divide between you. But I don't need to create a divide, Black will do that eventually on his own, it's what he does. And I'm not saying all of this because I still have some deep-seated issue with you because, once upon a time, you 'retired' me. I'm passed that point where I'm holding petty grudges against inconsequential people that may or may not have slighted me. A few insults here, a few insults there, a lesser person would want to fight you. But I've ascended to a better place where God, the actual God and not a false idol, wants me to be because he's guided me to this path. Frank, I hope when Black hurts you, and he will eventually, that you aren't like me and fall for his ways again. But that's then and this is now. And I apologize, because for one night I'm going to have do a lot of wrong.
The scene fades out to black as Price walks down the steps and out of sight.
