- Event: Refueld XLII
“The Bridge is Over” by Boogie Down Productions blares in the background from a Bluetooth boombox on a faux marble coffee table. The area smells of cigarettes and booty as men and scantily-clad women sing and dance to their hearts content. Kevin Capone is seated on a peeling, black pleather couch smack in the middle of all the commotion, his face in the palms of his hands.
Kevin Capone: I couldn’t do it…
?: Ok, place it a little higher.
One of the sparsely-dressed women bumps into Capone while dancing and laughing along to the music, rocking him in and out of position. Kevin’s troubled demeanor remains.
SNIFFFFFFF
A man bent over, his face sliding across the edge of an end table next to Kevin hits him as well causing the same reaction.
?: No, no..tilt it up a little.
Capone picks up his head and looks over at a petit woman wearing a gray, form fitting HOW polo-shirt and jeans directing others with black HOW STAFF t-shirts. Kevin continues watching as the staffers transform his office into a makeshift HOW set. One man is on a ladder removing the pin from a traditional black and red HOW banner and placing the pin along with said banner a bit higher as instructed. The transition reveals some of Capone’s wrestling posters obstructed behind.
HOW Producer: That glass frame doesn’t mesh with the shot. Toss it.
Kevin Capone’s framed HOW contract is removed by another staffer and placed on top of other relics on the side. The room looks more like a backstage HOW set than an office/gym now, with company props positioned along the shot. The woman looks over at Kevin.
HOW Producer: Capone, you ready?
Capone, face still in his hands, looks over at the woman out of the corner of his eye then at the end table next to him.
—————-
Kevin Capone comes into the shot, shirt removed, sweat streaming down every crevasse of his chiseled physique, doing imaginary pull ups. The HOW banner and props engulf the background behind him.
Kevin Capone: Get your tickets for Refueled XLII, next Saturday, at Best Arena people! Because John Sektor versus Kevin Capone will be a fight you all want to witness! If John Sektor believes he has dog walk with me because of the results of this past weekend, he has another thing coming! He might think his blemish free, perfect record makes him perfect. Yeah, he’s perfect. He’s a perfect fool! Because never before have I been so confident in my own abilities, man! Confident that Kevin Capone will stand the true test of time! Confident that my journey to make it here will not be in vain! As far as my ambition goes, John Sektor..my ambition is burning hotter than ever before! My ambition will not be deterred. My mission remains the same and that’s to show legends like you, John Sektor, along with the rest of the world that Kevin Capone belongs! That Kevin Capone is made of the right stuff to make it in HOW! That the hours of training and physical beatings I’ve taken, including the one this past Saturday, only makes me stronger!
Kevin Capone: Now as far as the courage department, anybody can be knocked down a peg or two! And some stay down! Maybe even down for the count. But it takes true courage to keep getting back up! And that’s what I’m going to do at Refueled XLII, next Saturday at Best Arena, John Sektor! Every time you knock me down, I will get back up! I will get back up and bring the fight to you! And when the match is over, I will be the one left standing tall! Taller than ever before! All at your expense, John Sek-
HOW Producer: Wait, wait, wait. Uh, you want to try this again? Maybe with the volume tuned down to less than a 100? And while we’re at it, can you get these people to turn off the 80’s mumbo gumbo rap.
Kevin Capone paces around, slightly unhinged. He juggles his pecs, momentarily ignoring the producer, before motioning to the people on the side to cut the music. Capone looks into the camera again.
Kevin Capone: I’ve travelled to the end of the world and back over the years! I’ve garnered a few fans…not many..but a few, who have stuck with me through thick and thin. I’m doing this for them, man! I will not throw this opportunity away! The opportunity to turn a spec of an overseas career into a mark on the map, John Sektor! The apex of this business, HOW! Sure, I lost this past Saturday! Sure, Jatt Starr cashed his first winner’s check in this millennium on account of me! Sure, my wrestling career is all but a collection of deleted scenes on VHS gathering dust bunnies next to the porn section at Blockbuster! Miles and miles of plows and trials! That’s what gives me the chip on my shoulder. The chip I need to defeat you, Sektor!
Kevin Capone: You know, this past Saturday, when I was staring up at the lights hearing the referee’s hand come down on the mat those three times man, I saw my career flash before my eyes. When I was holed up at my home for days, licking my wounds, I was able to do a lot of soul searching and I really didn’t know how I would handle the world of professional wrestling going forward. But when I saw my name on the card next to yours, John Sektor, I knew it wasn’t over! I knew that loss to Jatt Starr was only a bump in the road. I knew I still had an opportunity to belong because it was going to be Kevin Capone versus the legend himself, John Sektor, at Refueled XLII! I knew seeing that then, it was just the opportunity I need to set the trajectory in the right path for my second wind…for my chance at redemption..for my shot to make a name for myself in HOW! I also knew it wouldn’t be easy when I signed on the dotted line to come here. I knew that the big dogs were in this kennel. But I have my mind, body, spirit, and soul focused for this upcoming Saturday at Best Arena! Oh yeah, it’s been hard to live with to know that I was only a pup compared to even the sickest mutt in the pound. This is my chance to change that! No marks, no scars, no blemishes on your stat line since coming back, John Sektor. It’s not an opinion, it’s a matter of public record. But that same public record will reflect Kevin Capone’s arrival to HOW by the end of our match!
Kevin Capone: You know, speaking of scars, I have many plastered across my body. But inside man, inside, is my biggest to date! I’ve had to deal with an internal scar marked on me this past Saturday. Everywhere I go I’m getting asked, was THAT it? Was what I showed against Jatt Starr all I have to offer? Was that what I waited close to 20 years to show? I’ve been asked, did I get in over my head by coming here? Well, at Refueled XLII at Best Arena, I’m gonna wipe away all that doubt man! You’ve had a long time to get ready for your comeback, John Sektor. So, now with your body as fresh as a daisy, with the whole world watching, I’m going to prove I can beat you no matter the circumstances. Regardless, of that internal burn, that lingering lashing I received at the hands of Jatt Starr and that will continue at your hands, I’m sure, I’m going to silence the doubters! I’m going to…
HOW Producer: (To staffer next to her) Forget it. He doesn’t get it. Where did they get this guy?
Fade To Black