Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Add Reply
The Fire; PotW Night One vs Alexander Haven
Topic Started: Jun 28 2016, 08:36 AM (15 Views)
Grady Smith
Member Avatar
10-time World Champion
(From the black screen, we hear a few faint background sounds, but no music, no nothing. Just a light breathing sound before…)

Voice: 20 years, I've been in this industry….

(A match suddenly is struck in the middle of the blackness, revealing the aged face of Grady Smith. Grady is holding the match vertical, the match struggling to put out as much light as it can, but it's not an awful lot.)

And the one thing you quickly realize is that time flies when you're in this business.

(The match, burning quickly, now goes out, and the screen is back to black.)

That first year, I barely remember, it was such a blur, burning out as quickly as this match.

(Another match is lit…)

It wasn't until that second year until you start to learn to slow this business down, and start to figure out…

(Match goes out…)

That if you don't take control of it, you won't get very far in this business.

(another match lit…)

It's a lesson I learned very quickly in this business, Alex…

(match goes out…)

So by the time I reached my third year, I knew exactly what had to be done to be on top. They're not things I'm proud of, but when you're young, it's not too often you think 17 years ahead…

(Another match is lit…)

So by the time I started to hit my stride, it became more about self-preservation than forward thinking…

(match goes out)

It was never anything personal against any of the younger up and comers, but when you're told that there's someone younger, hotter and better than you ready to take your spot, your mind goes black and the only things you see are the things you can do to make sure your spot isn't the one taken.

(Another match is lit…)

So when some up and comer named Alexander Haven comes around that's the real deal…

(match goes out)

What's the only thing a top guy in the industry to think when everyone is telling you that this is the guy to take your spot? You think I'm seeing clearly when some rookie is going to take your spot? Your way of providing for your family?

(Another match lit)

So that fire, it starts to burn, puts you into self-preservation mode, and you’d rather watch everything go up in flames…

(Match goes out)

Than to find yourself in the darkness, wondering just what in the hell happened, knowing that the world around you continues to go on and has forgotten all about you and everything you accomplished against the odds.

(Another match is lit)

You fight, claw, backstab… getting yourself on top, keeping yourself on top…

(Match goes out)

Until that day when you’re looking for that fire to come back, to keep you going on… And it doesn’t. There’s no more fire, and as the days pass, and the days turn to weeks, and the weeks turn to months, and the months turn to years, and there’s no more fire. There’s no more fanfare, and you realize…

The business has moved on without you.

And you… you did nothing to give back to the business.

The business chewed you up, put you on top, then spit you out.

And then you realize…


(Another match is lit, this time, also showing a book of matches in front of Grady’s face, with only one match left in the book aside from the one Grady is holding in his right hand…)

There’s very little time left. We only get so many matches in this business… in this life…

(Match goes out)

Before there are no more matches… there are no more flames.

So what happens, when you get…


(Another flame, but this time, the final match has lit the entire match book)

One more opportunity. To correct all of the sins of the past. To leave that thing you built up to great levels in a better place than when you left it all those years ago.

(Grady takes the lit match book, throwing it behind him, which ignites a much larger fire pit, with the flames now burning bright enough to see a lot more of what’s going on. We see Grady is sitting on the far side of a wooden picnic table, glass of some drink -- probably whisky -- in front of him.)

This is my road to redemption, Alexander. This is my opportunity to correct all of the mistakes from years ago. To right all of the wrongs. To fix those things that I broke and left broken for others to pick up.

That’s why I’m here, Alexander. So tell me…

Why are you here?

If anything, you’ve got the roles all backwards on this one. You’ve been claiming for weeks that I’m the one here to glorify myself in the spotlight. So then tell me…

Why did you come back?

You didn’t come back to help foster an environment where all of the up and comers in the business today can flourish and be propelled to great heights. You sit there and feed Tyler and Martin all of the crap that they want to hear, but yet, who are the two continuing to headline the Youth, nearly fifteen years later.

It’s not Tyler and Martin.

It’s Alexander Haven and Christopher Kage.

The same two guys that thought they were revolutionizing the sport fifteen years ago.

So where were you earlier this year when this company had a chance to put the ownership back into the hands of individuals that wanted the business to prosper instead of handing favors over to those who kissed his ass best?

So where were you to help a couple of individuals that were finally looking to make their big break in the business get an opportunity at reaching the pinnacle of this sport?

You weren’t the one at the top of the mountain, lending them a hand to pull them up to the same level you were at.

You weren’t the one down in the trenches with them, fighting to keep all of those that wanted to halt progress at bay.

You were the one that was halting the progress.

You were the one standing on top of the mountain, pushing the heads of those that had nearly climbed to the top back down, showing them that they weren’t on the same ground as you, but yet still beneath your boot.

That’s the true Alexander Haven.

This whole revolution you’re going on, it’s not about change. It’s about cementing the legacy of Alexander Haven, and only Alexander Haven.

See, that’s why this business needs a man like Grady Smith right now. I might not have been the best person, or the nicest person back fifteen years ago…

But age is a funny thing. It has a way of humbling even the biggest of ego’s.

Your humbling will come, Alexander.

Your humbling comes, at Path of the Warrior.

I made the mistake of fanning your flames fifteen years ago, putting the chip on the shoulder of that young kid that took it and ran to heights unforeseen. A chip that took him to become one of the greatest in this business.

I’m not too proud to say that, Alexander. You became one of the greatest the world has ever seen.

But now, that fire is out of control, Alexander.

And come Path of the Warrior…


(In an instant, the massive fire that has grown behind Grady… is out. And back to pitch black).

I extinguish that flame.

(Fade to… more black?)


  • 10-time circuit World Heavyweight Champion
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · The Warrior's Den · Next Topic »
Add Reply