IN OUR FOOTSTEPS
SOMEWHERE ELSE
Click.] [Static covers the screen as a Play ► symbol appears in the bottom right hand corner.] [Dust floats into the heated air of Wyoming. The sun beats down upon the sand, making it warm to touch. Stood in the middle of a land once owned by his tribe, Tommy Hawk is bare foot, his toes dug deep beneath the warm soft embrace of Mother Earth.] [He’s surrounded by his brothers, who survey what was once their home.]
“Jon Davenport and Frank Harrison tried to take this land from us for their own selfish means. They stole from us, just like the white man always has. But with my victory and this,” [Tommy holds up the OSW World Championship.] “We can get it back.”
[Suddenly, the sound of galloping can be heard from a distance. As Tommy turns in confusion, the sound becomes louder and clearer, until six Knights on Horseback surround a King, who leads them.] [Your majesty, King Royal.]“Bow before your King, cretins,” [Sir Davos – King Royal’s Captain bellows his order loudly.] “Or we shall take your scalps.”
[Everyone immediately turns to face them.]“On this day, on this land, you dare to threaten us?” [Tommy responds, placing his belt down on the sand.] “This is Native land, and we do not have a King.”
[Royal swings his leg over his horse and drops down, the sound of metal clashing together as he does. He steps forward, accompanied by his Knights who follow in attack formation..]“Your land?” [The King hisses.] “I think not. I purchased this land from Sir Frank Harrison and within my possession, I retain the deed. Every King needs a Castle for his Kingdom and mine shall be built upon the sweat, blood and tears of your people.”
[Hawk steps forward, his face the picture of calm.]“It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand. If you want the land of ancestors, you may try to take it.”
[With that said, The King draws his sword.] [There’s not a moment to think. The Knights charge towards the tribe, a brawl ensuing. Tommy grabs his tomahawk, and ducks under a swing of Royal’s sword. He quickly blocks another strike, but The King pushes him backwards, forcing him to a knee – sword to tomahawk. The World Champion swivels, swiping at his shin’s, protected by metal guards.] [He gets back to his feet and lunges low, again clashing with the metal body armour of the King who reels with the impact but thrusts his sword forward, only to have it knocked away from his grip by Hawk.] [The King immediately tries to pick it up, only Tommy stamps his foot down upon it, forcing Royal to rethink his strategy. He rolls away, grabbing a handful of sand and flinging it into the face of the Champion. Hawk clutches at his eyes, and The King escapes to his horse, galloping away into the distance.] [Tommy turns to his see tribe, blooded but alive. The Knights follow in retreat of their King, chased closely behind by the Indian’s, hollering and screaming at them. Hawk bends down and dusts off his Championship, looking off into the distance with great fury, his eyes bloodshot red.] [This man has no King.] [Cut.]FUCK THE DOCTORS
SOMEWHERE ELSE
“But Edgar, how could you do this to me? Don’t you love me?”
[Then some toolbag with a bad mustache, presumably Edgar…]“Of course I love you, Molly, but sometimes love just isn’t enough. I’ve got to go, and I’ve got to go now. The plane is wai……”
[CLICK! Then the screen goes black.]“This is fuckin’ bullshit!”
[Jake Jeckel. He’s sitting in a hospital bed, and was just watching some terrible soap opera.]“I can’t sit here anymore. Nurse! NURSE!”
[He picks up the remote and jams the call button down over and over until the nurse comes rushing into the room.]“What’s wrong Mr. Jeckel? Are you in pain?”
“Pain? Yeah! This fuckin’ place is killing me with boredom. There’s something wrong with my brother out there, and I’m sitting here in this hell hole watching The Days of Our Fuckin’ Lives. I want out of here.” [He raises his arm up. Tubes hang from his I.V.] “Get this shit out of me.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Jeckel, but you haven’t been released by your doctors yet. Your cuts were quite deep, and you aren’t ready to…”
“Fuck that!” [Jake says, and starts pulling the I.V. out of his arm.] “I’ve got a match tonight, and I ain’t ganna miss it!”
[He jumps up, his hospital gown not hiding anything in the back. He doesn’t care. He walks over to the cabinet and pulls out his pants and pulls them up. The nurse tries to interrupt.]“Sir, you can’t go! The doctors…”
“Fuck the doctors! I gotta find my brother, and I gotta fight!”
[He walks out, still covered in bandages. The nurse throws her hands up.] [Cut.]PHOENIX & SOKOLOV VS. THE FAMILY
TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
THE PROMISED LAND
SOMEWHERE ELSE
“I tell you the truth, blessed are the hungry and the thirsty, for they will inherit the earth. Friends, I know that things are hard right now. I understand your plight, for I live it with you. I know what it is like to be hungry beyond words. I know what it is like to curl up in the open, with nothing for warmth, and to pray to a god that I don’t believe in to make it through the night. I know what it is like to be ill, so sick that all you want to do is go to sleep and never wake up, but the bastards that they call doctors only want to make you worse…”
[The people, though downtrodden, perk up to listen to their leader.]“Look at Cortney.”
[A young girl, maybe 13, steps up. She appears to have something wrong with her skin. She looks to Calypso to hold her, but even the Messiah won’t lay her hands on the girl.]“Her leprosy has made her an outcast. Even her own family has disowned her, and now she lives on the streets. But, I tell you the truth, Cortney, someday people like you and me will control this earth, and no longer will we be pushed to the edges of society. No! We will lead this revolution, and I will guide you into the promised land!!!”
[We fade away from the crowd as Calypso continues speaking. Her voice trails away, and then we hear another. This one from the blackest of shadows. It belongs to a young child, but it sounds… strange.]“Is it true, Mother? Does she speak the truth?”
[From the darkness, and into a dim pallor, steps Mother.]“No, my dearest, she speaks of lies and deceit. But we will silence her trickery.”
[And from the darkness peers the glowing eyes of her ghastly children.]JAKE JECKEL VS. HAYDEN HARDKORE
SINGLES MATCH
SAY SOMETHING
RINGSIDE
“What’s going on, little brother? I’ve spent a week and a half in the hospital thanks to what you did at Pandemonium. You made me miss the fuckin’ match, man! And you didn’t visit, you didn’t even fuckin’ call? Did the Family get to you? Are you infected with the Virus?”
[Jack just looks down. He doesn’t want to make eye contact with his brother. Jake pushes on.]“Come on, man, don’t just stand there! Say something! I’m all cut up because of you, and they only reason I ain’t kickin’ your ass right now is because I know somethin’s wrong with you. Now talk!”
[Jake holds out the microphone. Jack still won’t make eye contact, but reaches out and takes the mic. He holds it up to his mouth… and blasts Jake in the head with it!! Jake goes down like a ton of bricks and Jack pounces. He pummels Jake into the canvas with a series of stomps. Then he drops to his knees and punches Jake over and over again in the head. Finally, he stands up, looks at his brother who is now bleeding from his cuts profusely, as well as a new laceration on his head. Jack stares down a moment longer, and then slips out of the ring. He walks backstage without looking back, as paramedics rush by with a stretcher.]DESMOND CROSS VS. THE HANGMAN
SINGLES MATCH
THE WARRIOR
BACKSTAGE
“Welcome to VHS, my little Warrior. An opportunity awaits for you!”
[He turns around to find a large net engulfing him! As HHK struggles with the net, we see Fluffy tying it shut as Alistair Huxley steps in, a grin on his face.]“Looks to me like you’re all tangled up, aren’t you? That’s okay, you’ll learn to appreciate it where you’re going, my friend.”
[HardKore pulls at the rope, giving a confused glare at Huxley.]“What are you on about, ya hard case? I’ll have your guts for garters!”
[This just makes Huxley chuckle with delight.]“Now this is what I’m talking about! You have the strength of a warrior, you’re the descendant of a demigod, and you have an amazing sense of humor to boot! You’d be perfect for my Circus, a new headliner to rebuild what was broken down. I’ll even call you Maui the Maori…how does that grab ya?”
[HardKore pulls the rope harder, eventually tearing it apart!]“That’s a good yarn you’re spinning, but you’re two sammies short of a picnic if you think I’m interested. Ka kite, pakeha!”
[Fluffy quickly pulls a flabbergasted Huxley away, leaving the Maori Warrior to shake his head as Huxley and Fluffy escape down the hallway.]“Next time you wanna throw a wobbly, you’d better bring a helmet…cause I’ll knock ya for six!”
[He turns to the shelf next to him, where his trusty Mere rests. He smiles with a nod as he grabs the club, heading down the other direction.] [Cut.]DEATH’S SHADOW
BACKSTAGE
“Do you think this is funny, Hangman? Trying to scare me? It won’t work. I’ve hung you once before, I have no qualms about doing it again.”
[DEAD glares as he searches the halls, knocking the hung bodies to the side, tearing them down as he does. He’s suddenly stopped in his tracks as The Hangman’s voice booms through the hallway.]“You didn’t kill me, DEAD. You never even got close. I still walk this earth, I will ALWAYS walk this earth. Hang me, burn me, behead me. You cannot kill what is already dead.”
[DEAD turns around, looking for the voice, seeing nothing, he turns back to the bodies.] [But all of them are gone.]“You cannot stop me, DEAD. I will not stop until I have my revenge.”
“You’ll never even get a chance to lay a finger on me, Hangman. I feel no pain, and I feel no remorse for what I will do to you once you find the courage to meet me face to face.”
[He turns, walking away from the hall and to the ring, not shaken by the altercation. As he leaves the hallway behind, the lights flicker once more, Hangman standing in the middle of it, noose in hand.]“You can try to run from me, DEAD. But in the end, I’m gonna getcha.”
ETHAN BIRD VS. THE DEAD
SINGLES MATCH
BOOK OF GENESIS
RINGSIDE
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” [He begins, chuckling as he does so.] “And I think we all know how that one fucked everything up!”
[He snorts as he begins to walk up the ramp.]“But it’s time for a real god to emerge.” [Bird states with a smile.] “And this god isn’t going to make the same mistakes as the false god so many people worship.”
[Bird looks around the arena as he stands in the entrance way.]“Because the mistake wasn’t in creation, the mistake was in giving the puppets the ability to realize they had strings. So this god isn’t going to do that. Instead, I’m going write my own Book of Genesis!”
[He begins to walk out of the arena as the camera follows him.]“Adam and Eve were made in God’s image, but my puppets won’t be made in my own image. Because my image is perfect, and the two broken creatures that make up my creation story are far from that. They are soulless abominations that only exist to destroy.”
[Bird winds through the labyrinth of the Tap Room before finding his way to the parking lot where a vehicle waits for him, engine on.]“Both of them have existed beyond the measurement of time, so in my mind, it’s time to set things right. It’s time for a god to pay these timeless beings back for what they have brought upon the Earth. Because humanity has suffered under their sway for too long, in my mind.”
[He climbs into the vehicle before rolling down the window to look at the camera.]“It’s time for the Genesis to end. And they may not know it, but this god is not as forgiving as the last one.”
[Ethan Bird laughs as the window to his vehicle rolls up and it heads off.] [Where is he going?] [And what the hell is he talking about?]JACK JECKEL VS. CALYPSO
SINGLES MATCH
RISE OF THE FALLEN
RECORDED EARLIER
“Pathetic…”
[He tosses the bible back down into the ashen remains of his temple, snuffing it down with his boot.]“It took the betrayal and burning every aspect of my faith to see things clearly. Now, I can stretch my wings. Born out of the fire.”
[Maniacal laughter sounds, echoing all around him in the rubble. He catches sight of the source of the laughter, watching him from what once stood a pillar of his temple. Slowly, Desmond Cross steps across the rubble toward the Dragon.]“Pathetic, yes… Look how much of your life has been given to the fight for a God who doesn’t care. You may turn from him, but his marks forever scar your flesh. And for what?”
[Cross turns abruptly, as if reacting to a voice behind him, only there is none. He shakes his head, muttering to himself before returning to face Solomon. A wild smile is on his face.]“Born in the flames, risen from the flames…” [Desmond draws ever closer to Rhodes.] “Did you really think it was Bellator who burned this place to the ground?”
[Solomon fires him a brief moment of an inquisitive look, enough to receive another flurry of laughter from the imbalanced Fallen.]“Everything that God’s hand has touched will be destroyed. Bricks, mortar… And flesh that bears the scars of the Lord who abandoned me. His hands mark your flesh, you cannot simply walk away from that. You must meet the same fate.”
[Solomon stands his ground.]“I stand not in the name of the Lord, but to tear the veil between the hypocrisy and falsities that the manipulators of men impose. Those manipulators come in many shapes and forms. Religious, or scorned by God… You are still one of them. I walk to shatter the veil, risen as a beast of which you cannot control and you cannot destroy.”
[Cross simply smiles at Solomon’s stand.]“It’s almost poetic. That the Fallen should rise from the ashes of your broken faith. The rubble of your past life breeding life to he who seeks vengeance on God himself. This is just the beginning, man.”
[Desmond tosses a cloud of ash from the rubble of Lazarus’s temple into the sky, sending the scene to black momentarily. When the ash settles, he is gone… and so is the Dragon.]KING ROYAL VS. SOLOMON RHODES
SINGLES MATCH
WATCHING
SOMEWHERE ELSE
“Stephanie?” [He yells out, searching the rooms one by one. Finally, she appears behind him, as if out of no-where. He turns around, startled, and steps backwards.] “Where did you come from?”
“What’s the matter, daddy?” [She hisses.] “Did you miss me?”
[Stephanie isn’t the same. She’s a twisted, sickened, disturbed individual. Even Cussen, despite his infection, is taken back.]“We need to get you out of here, darling. Phoenix has defeated the infection. He’s going to come for you.”
[She smiles.] “Oh, I’m not afraid of the big bad bird, daddy. Jacob is weak. I could sense his purging of our Virus long before he revealed himself to me. He told me, didn’t you know? He sat me down, stroked my hair and told me that he was going to rescue me.” [Cussen seems surprised.]“He said he was biding his time and when the moment was right, he was going to pluck me from the arms of my family and destroy the darkness inside of me. I couldn’t let him do that,” [she says with a shake of her head.] “Oh no. What would father say?”
[Jensen pulls her close, into his arms and embraces her.]“How dare he try to take you from me,” [he says.] “How da-“
[Stephanie pushes him backwards.] “Oh, you’re silly daddy. I didn’t mean you, stupid. I meant father.” [She looks towards a decrepit painting on the wall, whereby she sits on the lap of DTR, with Jensen, Jacob and The Dead stood around him. She meant David, not Jensen. Phoenix’ face has been scratched away, revealing a hole in the canvas.]“Father wants you to destroy Jacob. He wants you to break his spine. At No Exit, inside Cellular Infection, he wants you to kill him.”
[Jensen looks at her, confused.] “Cellular Infection?” [There’s a boisterous laugh that you wouldn’t believe emanates from her, as she wanders away with her back turned.]“A Steel Cell covered in what makes us, us, daddy,” [She bellows.] “Ain’t that somethin’?”
[A sinister smile creeps across the face of Cussen, who rubs his hands together in glee.] [The camera spins back to the window, where the rain still splashes fiercely up against it. Only this time, we look closer.] [Sat perched on the fire escape railing, Jacob Phoenix sits, having heard it all. The rain drenches him, every pitter patter nailing him as he watches. He cuts a lonely figure, sat there in the rain, the love of his life on the other side of a glass window, wishing for his demise.] [Cut.]ALISTAIR HUXLEY VS. MOTHER
REWIND CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
A SPECIAL REPORT I
RECORDED EARLIER
AN ALVIN J. HOFFERMAN INVESTIGATION
OSW INVESTIGATIONS AND INTERNAL AFFAIRS
In the year 2000, William Edwards–a bright young man born in rural Pennsylvania–graduates from the undergraduate history program at Northern Forest University.
[An old photo appears. A smiling young man in his high school graduation gown: short-cropped hair, green eyes. Another photo, college freshmen move-in day. A fraternity party. A class presentation video. Overtop, a voice.]Soon after he begins a doctorate program at the prestigious Stewart College in upstate New York. Excelling in his studies and popular with his classmates, Edwards is a lock for a tenured teaching position at Stewart, right out of graduate school.
[A photo montage: the green and white emblem of Stewart College, its scenic campus; the quad; Flickinger Hall; a slightly older Edwards posing at a party, his hair longer and a beard on his face.]I’m Alvin J. Hofferman and this is an Old School Wrestling special report. Attentive viewers may be asking themselves, “What does this have to do with OSW?”
[The photos disappear. A man enters the frame. In his twenties and slender, clad in thick-rim glasses and gray suit, with a maroon ties. His hair is parted to one side.]Don’t worry. You’ll find out soon enough.
[Alvin J. Hofferman smiles.]At Stewart College, William Edwards spends three years, enjoying the academic life. He teaches and inspires many students, who to this day sing his praises.
In his first year teaching he falls in love with a fellow professor, Persephone Mills, seen here. They become engaged after two years of dating.
[A beautiful woman appears. Her hair is dark, down to her shoulders. Her skin is porcelain white. She smiles warmly in the picture, cooking scrambled eggs, morning sunlight shining through the window behind her.]All the while Edwards engages fervently in research projects as well as his own writings and treatises. He is published in several academic journals.
[Books and research articles written by Edwards appear on the screen. One, published in Philosopher’s Quarterly, is titled “The Unifying Godhead.” Another, a thick tome,entitled, “To Dream of a Higher Purpose: Parsing True Meaning from Ancient Texts.”]Edwards continues to dig deeper and deeper into ancient texts. Searching for answers, clues, hints at the cosmos, sacred wisdom. Anything that could make it all make sense. The duty of a philosopher, as he would often say.
[Alvin J. Hofferman smiles.]In February 2013, he abruptly leaves the United States on a midnight, one-way flight to Rome. Records show that William Edwards purchased his ticket merely an hour before takeoff. All his books and papers went with him, but not much else.
[Travel documents, surveillance footage, and the times and dates of various communications sent by Edwards, including locations. A letter to his mentor, Doctor Regulus, sent from Alaska. An email to Persephone, noting he’s in Moscow, and that he misses her. A letter to his mother sent from Rio de Janeiro. Postcards from London.]From there, official documents and testimonies from his acquaintances paint a scattershot picture of someone constantly on the move. Edwards seems to cross the globe three times a week in between 2013 and 2015. His by-then-estranged fiancee, family, colleagues, students, and mentors report brief and vague but consistent correspondence with William Edwards throughout this time period.
At the end of 2015, Williams goes dark. You may remember #FindWilliam, a brief social media phenomenon, and the subsequent efforts to locate Edwards. Still, he goes unfound.
[Persephone, older now. Her face is more gaunt, her eyes colder. She is still beautiful.]Until Christmas Eve, 2016. Recently unearthed informations shows that Persephone received a phone call from what had by then become her former fiancee, sent from a satellite connection. Logs show his signal originated from a remote rainforest in South America.
On New Year’s Eve, 2016, surveillance footage shows that Persephone Mills left the country via a one-way flight to Greece.
[To be continued.]IT’LL ONLY HURT A LITTLE
SOMEWHERE ELSE
“Do you know why Sergei brought you here?” [The brute asks, kneeling opposite.] “It because you have something I need.”
[DTR’s head tilts. He’s heard this before.]“Not first time you heard this, huh?” [He says with a grimace, rolling his head slightly.] “Sergei understands. Everybody want Virus. Everybody want find out what make Dave tick.”
[The Red Tsar stands up and walks closer, looming largely and casting a giant shadow over DTR.]“Sergei not care why you infected. Sergei not care what Virus to do him. You understand, David? Sergei need you to tell him how you came to be infected.”
[He rips the tape off, demanding answers.]“Oh son, do you know how many times I’ve been asked that?” [DTR says, grinning devilishly.] “It’s getting embarrassing. You’re not the only one who understands, okay? I understand too. I have something you want, something you need, and you’re going to use that big sharp knife to get it from me. You don’t need to, son. If you want the Virus, you can have it.”
[Sergei’s eyes widen slightly. He didn’t expect that.] “Sergei can have it?” [DTR nods in agreement.] “All you have to do is join The Family. Our virus, it takes time to take a hold of you but once it has, you’ll feel indestructible.”“NO!” [Sokolov yells.] “I not have time for this. I not have time for your foolish games!”
[With the knife in hand, he looks at it, then down at DTR.]“Hold still. It’ll only hurt a little.”
[His looming figure covers our screen as the screams of The Virus echo throughout the warehouse. The Russian Bear uses his knife, his sharpened knife, looking for answers that DTR may not be willing to share.] [What’ll be left of DTR by the time he’s finished?] [Cut.]A SPECIAL REPORT II
RECORDED EARLIER
In the early part of May, a man named William Abraxas arrived at the Old School Wrestling headquarters, clad in black, his voice an insidious baritone.
[A woman steps out of the limousine, dark hair fluttering in the breeze.]He demanded a contract having never stepped foot in the ring, never wrestled, never been in a reported altercation or drunken bar fight.
[Alvin J. Hofferman is glaring.]For reasons this reporter is still struggling to understand, his request was granted. Further negotiations were handled by Abraxas’ manager: his wife, Persephone.
[William Abraxas: Dark brown hair, tucked behind his ears, falling to just above his shoulders. A flat nose, arched eyebrows. He looks bemused, like a cat smiling at its prey.]We here at the OSW Investigations and Internal Affairs Department can confirm a major revelation in the saga of the disappeared philosopher, William Edwards.
Eye witness accounts from the meeting with William Abaraxas at OSW headquarters–as well as the official OSW photography you’re looking right now–prove undeniably that newcomer William Abraxas is the same person as the believed-dead professor, author, and Internet obsession, William Edwards.
A shocking conclusion to this tale, and one no one saw coming.
Still, questions remain. What was Edwards–or Abraxas, I suppose–doing all this time? Why didn’t he speak with anyone when the whole world thought he was dead? What was he seeking? And why, of all places, has he come to OSW? What could he possibly want here?
Until we see Abraxas up close and personal and hear it from his lips, your guess is as good as mine. Who is this man? What does he want? Only time shall tell.
Until next time, I’m Alvin J. Hofferman. This has been an OSW special report.
[Alvin J. Hofferman smiles.] [Black text, white screen.]AN ALVIN J. HOFFERMAN INVESTIGATION
OSW INVESTIGATIONS AND INTERNAL AFFAIRS
THE SCARECROW VS. TOMMY HAWK
SINGLES MATCH
THE FORBIDDEN TREE
RINGSIDE
“Scarecrow!” [A voice calls, grabbing the attention of the Hayman.] [Ethan Bird is on that screen with a wide grin behind his beard. He cocks his head to the side as we can see that Bird is standing in some outdoor area. Trees rise all around him like some kind of wooded cage, yet this is no caged Bird.]
“Just like Adam, you follow a woman to your own demise.” [Bird begins.] “You were created to answer to no one, but you’ve bowed your heard to Mother. Even though you could destroy her without a care, you still do her bidding.”
[Scarecrow seems amused by this development, but extremely interested in what Bird has to say.]“She builds an army of children around you, while you still stand alone. Do you truly believe that she is your Mother?”
[Bird spits on the ground.]“Why would you serve a mother when you could serve a GOD?”
[Bird seems to inhale power with his every breath.]“You do it because she holds power over you. You do it because she saved you from demise. You do it because you are weak, Scarecrow. And if there is one thing I cannot stand, it is weakness. You are meant to be so much more than that.”
[Ethan Bird holds his hand out.]“Bow to me, Scarecrow, and I will give you power beyond your wildest imaginations. Leave behind the weak woman you serve, and bow to your god.”
[He walks over to the nearest tree and looks up at the fruit dangling from it.]“Because she is like that old God, Crow. She tries to deprive you of your own ability to walk on your own. She controls you with the very power she used to bring you back from the brink of eternal darkness.”
[Bird pulls down the fruit off the tree. It’s a red apple that he seems to take a look at it intently.]“I won’t stop you from eating of the forbidden tree. It contains the knowledge you will need, Crow, if you are to endure beyond this current trial.”
[He takes a bite of the apple, bits of it resting in his beard.]“Come to me, Scarecrow. Bow to me.”
[Bird eats the apple with a grin on his face as the video cuts.] [In the middle of the ring Scarecrow seems intrigued, yet he begins to laugh aloud as darkness falls over the arena.] [The sounds of crows fluttering fills our ears, and when the lights come back on, Scarecrow is gone.] [What will Scarecrow do?] [Is Ethan Bird telling the truth?] [Darkness ends VHS as these questions ring in our ears.]