Backstage at the O2 World Arena
Berlin, Germany
Wednesday December 3rd 2008
The scene opens up in the backstage area of the O2 World Arena in Berlin. August Joyce is sat nursing his injuries suffered at the hands of John Patrick earlier this evening. Sat opposite him is Yana Gradlienko. She looks confused, and almost concerned.
“So what happen now?” Yana sounds downhearted.
“We wait.” August replies, sounding equally down.
Benjamin Doi is hovering behind August, pacing up and down. He stops and turns to August and Yana.
“What the hell are you guys so down about? You just beat John fuckin’ Patrick, man!”
August turns to Ben, wincing in pain and holding his neck as he does.
“Sorry did you not see the match? The guy owned me in there, I got lucky because he was a little off his game. This could have been ‘Killer’ all over again if it hadn’t been for Sean McBride.”
“Aight, you gotta realise dat not everyone is as mental as Patrick. Not everyone is gonna wanna destroy you like dat. You got thrown into a match against an unstable MWA Legend and you came out with the W. Now it don’t matter how, jus’ that you did. That’s gotta mean somethin’, that’s gotta give the boys in the office a lil somethin’ to think about!”
August remains silent, looking away from Benjamin as he thinks about what has been said. He thinks back through the match, the biggest opportunity of his career.
“I guess they done thinking.” Yana pipes up, looking towards the door.
August and Benjamin spin to face the door, August holding his neck again. Stood in the doorway is the big frame of Porkchop Poe, BattleZone Color Commentator and also MWA’s Director of New Talent.
“I don’t intend on keepin’ you crackas long, so I’ll get right to da point.” Poe says being all business. “You aint on the show next week.”
August sighs and rolls his eyes. He knew this was coming. He felt he didn’t perform well enough to last here in the MWA. Benjamin lets out an audible sign of frustration while Yana just slumps into her chair a little more.
”I want you to rest up.” Poe continues. “’Coz I have every intention on tying you up to a contract from the week after. And I think Earls wants to put you up against Malice.” He smiles widely. “Speak to you real soon, Mr Joyce, and welcome to the MWA.”
Poe continues to smile as he heads out of the door. Yana is suddenly sat upright again and Benjamin lets out an audible sign of delight. August’s pain suddenly eases and he slowly starts to form a smile.
”Did he say what I think he just said?”
“Hell yeah he did!” Benjamin seems even more excited than August.
Yana actually cracks a smile. “We did it. We made it.” August looks over to her. “I mean, you did it!”
“Yeah…” August begins, looking off into the distance. “We did.”
“Hold up.” Benjamin pipes up again. “Did he say Malice?!”
Wrestling Event
Toronto, ON
October 2001
David Spikey moved to Vancouver in early 1997, a young and talented wrestler from Liverpool, England, Dave was hoping that Vancouver would be a fantastic learning experience for him. At that time wrestling in the UK was a joke, no-one took it seriously, and Dave thought that coming to Canada was a chance to be taken seriously and to get ahead in the business.
Things didn’t really go to plan. Dave was struck with various injuries and personal problems. He struggled to get a reaction from the fans despite his great in-ring abilities. The costs of living became too much for Dave due to the lack of bookings he was getting and, almost five years after arriving, Dave had decided to stop wrestling.
But it was in his blood, he couldn’t stay away for long. Dave started teaching basics of wrestling to some local kids. And he also became manager to a friend of his, August Joyce. This was something that Dave loved doing, and tonight the pair had been at an event in Toronto.
“You’ll never make it.”
A fat, greasy looking man with a moustache and slicked back thinning hair was sat in a chair behind a messy desk, counting money. The event was over and this man, a local promoter, was enjoying seeing how much money he’d made. He didn’t look up from his cash as he spoke, and he spoke in the most dismissive tone August Joyce had ever heard.
“What? Why?”
The man stops counting, places the money in a safety deposit box and locks it. He looks up to August, who has Dave stood by his side. The man looks at them both for a few seconds as he places the deposit box key safely in his shirt pocket.
“The same reason he didn’t.” The man says, waving a hand in the direction of Dave. “No desire. No personality. Limited talent.”
“But I did well tonight.” August says with surprise and despair. “The crowd were well behind us. I dominated my opponent, who is considerably bigger and more experienced than me. I didn’t just win, I won in an entertaining match. They all loved it…” August points out to the now empty arena where the crowd had earlier been cheering him on. “Why didn’t you?”
“Look, kid…” The man looks annoyed and made sure to emphasise the word kid to remind August of his place. “I don’t have to justify myself to you.”
“And we don’t ‘ave to listen to yous talk shit.” Dave says as he puts an arm on August’s shoulder. “Let’s get outta here, our kid.”
“It’s not shit, buddy.” The man says angrily. “I know what the people want, and they don’t want you. They want danger; excitement; violence. They want people like Malice.”
The two men turn and head out of the room while the promoter looks on. Once out of the building the two men begin to put their stuff back in the car. August is silent and looks despondent. Dave soon notices the look.
“Hey, don’t let that bastard get you down, like. Tosspots like ‘im don’t know talent when they see it. I see it, and I know yous are gonna make it.”
“Sure about that?” August says quietly as he turns to Dave. “That asshole’s not the first person to say that to me, Spike. You know I’ve had comments like that thrown at me from all sorts of promoters all over Canada. This is the way wrestling is going, towards the violence and brutality of people like Malice. I hate that guy.”
“Well then…” Dave smiles. “We’re gonna prove a lot of people wrong when we turn yous into a world beater.”
August chuckles slightly. “You say that like you really believe it’s going to happen.”
“Oh, it will happen, like.” Dave says, still beaming. “One way or another yous are gonna make it to the very top. And that’s a promise.”
Berlin, Germany
Thursday 4th December 2008
Benjamin Doi steps out of a door and onto a bustling street in Berlin, full of people who have been doing their Christmas shopping or who have just finished work. The sun has set and the night has drawn in, bringing a cold breeze with it. Benjamin does his thick coat up as he steps onto the street. His journey isn’t a particularly long one, his wife has been waiting for him in a café over the road. He has a beaming smile on his face as he crosses the road, and Verity smiles back as soon as she sees him coming. Benjamin steps into the café and the two embrace.
”So, what did he say?” Verity says in anticipation. Ben just smiles. “It good news?”
“Oh yea, baby. It good news.” Benjamin pulls up a seat next to his wife and begins to pour himself a cup of coffee from the pot Verity had on her table.
”Well?” Verity is getting impatient. “You plannin’ on tellin’ me any time soon?”
Benjamin laughs, still smiling. “He says it shouldn’t be a problem, he can do it right away if I want.”
“Really?!” Ben’s wife joins in with the smiling. Ben nods. “That’s great!”
“I know. After all this time I finally find an Orthopaedic Surgeon who can fix my damn knee. An’ only because we happened to come to Germany with August. Crazy shit.” Ben shakes his head and laughs. “Doc pencilled me in for Monday, will be in overnight and they say I’ll be free to go on Tuesday mornin’!”
“So, if you have the op, you’ll be able to get in the ring again?”
The excitement in Verity’s voice hides the fact that, deep down, she doesn’t want her husband to wrestle again. She doesn’t want him to be travelling the world without her. But at the same time she knows how much it means to Ben, and she doesn’t want to see him miss out on his dream when his best friend is just starting to live out his.
“I’ll need to rest it fo’ a while after, be on crutches, then have some physical therapy. But, yea, doc reckons I can be back in the ring before too long. Which is pretty frickin’ amazin’.”
Verity is relieved that at least she gets time to get used to the idea that Benjamin could soon be back on the road. But thinking of being on the road suddenly jogs her memory.
”Ooh, I almost forgot. August phoned. His match against Malice in Madrid is on the 15th, so he’s looking to head out there early. But the MWA are off to Messina in Italy first, he has to go there to sign his contract.”
“I can’t believe dat August gotta fight Malice.” Ben shakes his head and rubs his knee as he starts to look of into the distance. “Been a long time since I heard dat name, was kinda hopin’ I’d never hear it again.”
PCW Wrestling Event
Somewhere on the West Coast, USA
September 2006
Benjamin Doi was attempting to make it to ‘the big show’. To make it ‘prime time’. After years of performing in High Schools and Community Centres he finally had the chance to fight in a proper Arena. And for a proper company too. He was here wrestling for PCW, Pacific Coast Wrestling, a trial match against the toughest S-O-B that Benjamin had ever met in his life.
Doi lays prone on the mat, clutching his knee. He’s just been taken down with a knee breaker. A little under a year ago Benjamin had suffered a knee injury and it caused him the occasional twinge here and there. Now was one of those times.
He rolls towards the ropes and pulls himself back to his feet. He turns to see his opponent charging towards him. Doi ducks a clothesline but gets taken out as his opponent turns quickly and nails a swift punch to the face. He ignores the warning about open hands as he grabs Benjamin and whips him into the corner of the ring. He smashes Doi’s head into the turnbuckle several times.
Benjamin staggers and hobbles out of the corner, dazed and confused. He swings out wildly, hoping to connect with something… anything. But all he gets is air. His opponent is stalking him and slips in at an opportune moment and hoists Ben up onto his shoulders into a Fireman’s carry. From there the man walks around the ring for a moment, looking out to the expectant crowd. He swings Ben round, taking him down with a Diamond Cutter variation.
Doi hits the mat hard, knee first, and the agony is unbearable. He gets covered quickly and cannot kick out, knowing that he’s suffered the same knee injury as last year. The bell sounds for the end of the match and Ben’s opponent celebrates an easy victory. Benjamin lays in the middle of the ring, not moving. He looks up into the lights, pain soaring through his leg and knee.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, your winner… MALICE!”
Malice stops his celebrations as he sees Doi still layed out on the mat. He wants Benjamin out of ‘his’ ring, and kicks him, trying to get him to roll out of the ring. But the pain in his knee is too much to move. Malice gets more agitated and begins to kick Ben harder, with real venom. He realises that it’s the knee which is causing the problem, so he aims his kicks right to the knee cap. Ben soon starts to yell out in pain and rolls over, trying to protect his knee.
But the attack doesn’t let up and Malice continues to attack the knee until Benjamin rolls all the way out of the ring. He falls off the apron and lands on his knee again. Malice continues to celebrate and taunt the crowd in the ring while Benjamin writhes in pain on the arena floor. Malice is perturbed by the sound of Benjamin’s agony, and decides to silence him.
Malice slides out of the ting, drags Benjamin back to his feet and rolls him into the ring. He gets back in the ring and props Benjamin up against the ropes. He sticks his head between the top and middle ropes before lifting Ben up and throwing him over the top. Benjamin spins over the top rope, the ropes twisting around his neck. Benjamin wriggles around as he hangs on the outside of the ring. He gets his hands up to his neck, trying to release himself but he cannot. He is tired, and losing air. Malice looks on with a sadistic smile on his face as Benjamin fades further before passing out.
With Benjamin hanging from the ring Malice heads outside the ring and grabs a chair. He taunts the fans in the front few rows before swinging the chair around wildly. He smashes it into the knee of the prone and unconscious Benjamin Doi. Referees are in the ring, trying to release Doi, but Malice continues to scare them off.
After a few scary moments Malice gives up on his attack and tosses the chair to the ground. The referees manage to free Doi as a medic attends to him. He’s breathing, just.
Retiro Park
Madrid, Spain
Thursday 11th December 2008
“Benjamin said not everyone would be as unstable and violent as John Patrick was the other week.” August starts, chuckling to himself. “And then they go and book me against Malice!?”
August Joyce shakes his head and laughs as he walks around a bench where Zhen Xu is sat, eating a sandwich. The two are in a park somewhere in Madrid, having spent the day sightseeing and talking business. It is a bright and sunny day, but it is cold and fresh. August paces to keep himself warm.
“Any Given Night, John Patrick, Malice… It is a baptism of fire.” Zhen says, not very reassuringly. “But then there are no easy matches in the MWA. I thought that’s why you liked the idea of signing with them. It’s a big challenge every week.”
True, August had liked that about the MWA. There was no shortage of top talent. It was the reason the MWA had been so successful over the years, and why it had been the envy of other companies the world over. But now August was here, he was realising just how challenging it was going to be if he ever wanted to make it to the top.
“I think the word challenge is a bit of an understatement when it comes to Malice.” August walks round the bench again, this time taking a seat next to Zhen. “You know his history?”
“Enough to know that you shouldn’t give him an inch. Don’t give him a chance to hurt you, because he will and he won’t give a damn.” Zhen looks at August with a genuine look of concern. Something August had never seen from his agent before. “I know what he did to Benjamin. And I know he cost you some bookings a few years back. But don’t allow this to become personal. If you make it personal, if you focus all your energies and thoughts on something silly like revenge then you’ll leave yourself wide open to making a stupid mistake.”
“Thanks for your concern.” August says with a smile. “You really do care, don’t you Geekachu.”
“Don’t kid yourself, August babe.” Zhen says as she looks away. “I just don’t want two clients sidelined with injuries. How am I going to make money from you if you’re on the shelf?”
August smiles. “Ah, there’s the Zhen I know. Money oriented as always.”
“Too right.” She says with a smile. “How else would I survive without the cash money you make me? I’d still be sat in my little office in Vancouver, arguing with Yana and Tess if it wasn’t for you. But I’m here, in Madrid, doing a European tour! And that’s all down to you. So don’t fuck it up against Malice or we’re all going home!”
August laughs and Zhen smiles at him cheekily. They sit there for a moment, looking out at the scenery of Madrid in front of them. A few moments pass with neither friend saying a word. They simply sit, in thought.
“Think you can take him?” Zhen says after she finishes off her sandwich.
“I think it’s going to be tough. It’s going to be a fight.” August voice gives off hints of concern as well as quiet confidence. “It’s going to be like ‘Killer’ all over again unless I’m not careful. I need to be ready, physically and mentally. I need to be on my A game.”
August pauses for a brief moment, looking out to see the Sun starting to set in the distance. He lets out a deep breath as he contemplates his upcoming match, watching it fade away into the cold evening sky. He wraps his coat around him tightly and folds his arms as he starts to feel the cold.
“The MWA is a whole new world. Nothing that has come before matters. Which is great for me, because before now there’s been pretty much nothing. But for Malice, it’s a different story. He’s a former ICW World Champion, but that counts for shit in the MWA. Yes, it’s impressive, but it gets you nowhere. You want to make it in the MWA, you have to prove yourself. That’s what I like about it here. It’s a clean slate for all newcomers. And I intend to make the most of this fresh start.”