The Ultimate Showdown: Act III “The Showdown”

[Thomas Uriel Bates]

The Ultimate Showdown: Act III “The Showdown”

Scene I “Last Statements”
Izod Center – East Rutherford, New Jersey

It is the day of Ultimate Showdown, and backstage at the Izod Center is crammed. Crewmembers rushing everywhere, wrestlers getting ready for their matches, and poor old Hank Brown keeps trying to grab that last minute interview before the big Showdown.

He stands before a black backdrop with a green WCF logo painted in the center. Two director chairs are placed in front of the logo, prepared for an interview for just about anyone. Wrestlers pass him by without so much as a “hi, how are you?” Anyone would be discouraged, especially when many of these wrestlers run out and hire some random fly by night reporter to do some basic interview.

His eyes perk up as he sees a familiar figure in the background. A participant in the Ultimate Showdown Main Event, and potentially the next WCF World Champion. He flags over the competitor, who seemingly walks his direction.

Hank Brown: Mister Bates, if you please.

Thomas Uriel Bates, one half of the WCF Tag Team Championship, approaches the reporter and extends his massive hand. Hank Brown accepts it as he brings up his microphone.

Hank Brown: Hello, WCF Galaxy, this is Hank Brown here with one half of the Tag Team Championship, and one of the participants for the WCF Ultimate Showdown Main Event that will be held tonight; Thomas Uriel Bates.

Thomas Uriel Bates: Thank you.

Bates and Hank Brown sit on the director’s chairs and begin their seemingly casual interview.

Hank Brown: Now, Mister Bates, you are competing in the Ultimate Showdown Main Event tonight, facing off against Stuart Slane, Nathan Chambers, Brent Alpine, Kevin Bishop, Gemini Battle, Zombie McMorris, and Teddy Blaze. With such great competitors here, what is going through your mind?

Thomas Uriel Bates: Well, Hank, it’s quite simple really. I’ve got to keep on my toes, and fight for my very life out there in order to come out on top. I’ve got Champion after Champion gunning for me, because they know I am the biggest threat to them tonight. No matter what they’re saying, they’re worried about what I can do.

Hank Brown: Now your size is not the only advantage you have in this match, is it?

Thomas Uriel Bates: No, not at all. I’ve been trained in wrestling since I was little. I’ve had the greatest teachers, and they prepared me for just about anything. I’ve also been in this match before, so I’ve got more of an idea of what to do.

Hank Brown: Not only that, you are also a back-to-back competitor in the Ultimate Showdown, right?

Thomas Uriel Bates: Right. I join the ranks of Alex Richards, Jeff Purse, and Odin Balfore as back-to-back competitors of Ultimate Showdown. Zombie McMoriss has competed in this match before, but not back to back. With all the new changes, and the current field of talent, I do have an advantage over everyone else in the match.

Hank Brown: Now, you enter this match as the WCF Tag Team Champion with Gemini Battle. Are you concerned that competing in this match will hurt your friendship?

Thomas Uriel Bates: No, I’m not. Not because I’m placing our friendship high on a pedestal, but because Gemini right now isn’t happy with me. My Senatorial campaign took me away from here during a very hard time in Gemini’s life. He’s not too pleased with me right now.

Hank Brown: Would you say that could distract him in the end?

Thomas Uriel Bates: Absolutely. Gemini Battle is one of the most dangerous competitors in this match, and everyone knows it. While he’s trying to take me on, I wouldn’t be surprised if a swarm descends upon him.

Hank Brown: What’s to stop them from swarming you?

Thomas Uriel Bates: Nothing much, except that I can most likely use one of them as a bat to hit everyone else with.

Hank Brown: How about Teddy Blaze? He’s got his eyes on the World Championship now.

Thomas Uriel Bates: And he has his eyes on the People’s Championship. He’s conflicted and full of guilt. He bashed his own friend in the head with the belt, and in the process killed Teo Del Sol for good. He did it because he wanted to keep the People’s Championship, all the while trying to gun for the World Title. He wants both, and he can’t have both. As he’s debating with himself, he’s going to find himself eliminated.

Hank Brown: Zombie McMorris has been claiming that he made the first strike, that he will walk away with the World Title.

Thomas Uriel Bates: Of course he thinks that. Of course, he’s also known as the Coked Up Madman. He doesn’t have a single clue as to what’s going on. He’s been running his mouth, talking about making the first strike, when he can’t even tell that he’s already struck out. Zombie McMorris doesn’t stand a chance of winning tonight, largely due to his massive ego and his belief that he’s already won. He’s built himself a trap, and stepped right in it.

Another person that seems to believe he already has the match won, is Stuart Slane. He’s a great wrestler, I’ve followed him for quite some time, but you don’t base your ability to win the match on the fact that you are the current Champion. Sooner or later you’re going to lose it, and more often than not it’s going to be because you think you can’t lose it. Like Zombie, Slane has built his trapped and found himself stuck in it.

Hank Brown: What about Nathan Chambers? He has been making a few comments on social media, and you seem to be picking on him exclusively there.

Thomas Uriel Bates: Well, it is easy to do. The man is a walking joke right now. He thinks he says something funny, something profound, or really puts someone down, but only makes a fool out of himself when he talks. It’s actually quite funny, I’ve been having a blast online with him.

Hank Brown: Now, Brent Alpine holds a belt that you very nearly entered the Showdown with last year.

Thomas Uriel Bates: Yes, he holds the Television Championship. He’s a good champion though. After all, he did defend it for nearly a month. That’s an impressive feat considering the title. That’s the one that every newcomer needs to go through in order to be taken serious around here. That’s the one that the Champion really needs to be on his guard. There’s no breaks, there’s no rests. You hurt yourself? Too bad, you better compete. You broke your ribs? Too bad, strap on that belt and walk to the ring. Concussion? Better hope the other guy passes out before you. That’s too much strain on any one man, especially on someone who’s mental breakdown was as public as Brent’s.

Trading a belt would be perfect for him. The World Title though? Now every single wrestler is gunning for you. This is not good for Brent, and I predict another breakdown soon. For his mental health, I hope I am wrong, but the precedence has been set.

Hank Brown: Now last year you walked away from the Ultimate Showdown with the WCF United States Championship, currently being held by Kevin Bishop.

Thomas Uriel Bates: Bishop’s a good competitor. He’s a good Champion. I really do like the guy, even though I am not a fan of his Brotherhood. I would much rather see more of what he personally can do. We’ll see though.

Hank Brown: He did say something to the effect of cutting down an Oak Tree.

Thomas Uriel Bates: Every drunken idiot in a bar thinks the same thing. Kevin Bishop is smarter than that, and generally has more talent than that. Chopping down an Oak Tree is fine and dandy, but chopping it down isn’t so easy when it’s chopping at you too.

Hank Brown: Any final words?

Thomas Uriel Bates: The Ultimate Showdown is my favorite time of year in the WCF. All the champions enter the ring, and everything changes. Every single thing changes. We have the best competitors in that ring, all at once. Can you imagine the moves we’re going to see from Gemini, Teddy, and Kevin Bishop? Can you imagine the skills shown by Stuart Slane, Brent Alpine, and to a lesser extent, Nathan Chambers? This will be a hell of a match, and this time I will be walking away with the WCF World Championship. Not because I already have it, but because I must fulfill my destiny.

Hank Brown: Well, Mister Bates, thank you for taking the time to allow me to interview you.

Thomas Uriel Bates: It’s not a problem, Hank. Thank you for having me.

The two shake hands again as both men stand up. Bates goes about on his way, as Hank Brown looks for the next wrestler willing to talk to him.

Scene II “The Ultimate Showdown”
Izod Center – East Rutherford, New Jersey

"Are you ready?"

The Ultimate Showdown. All the Champions of the Wrestling Championship Federation enter into one ring and fight to upgrade their titles, to become something more than what they already are. The chance for the lowly Internet Champion to possibly obtain the World Title. Of course, every other Champion is thinking the same thing.

The best of the best, all rolled up in one match. Men, and sometimes women, who have proven themselves in their own division, now work to prove themselves across the board. To become better than the best.

One, War, and Ultimate Showdown, the three biggest nights in the WCF, and now here we are. We’ve been waiting nearly a year. The time has finally arrived, it is The Ultimate Showdown.

As Thomas Uriel Bates steps up to the curtain dressed in his wrestling attire, he lowers his head as he mutters a prayer, and begins a deep pre-match thought process. Every wrestler does it, and Bates is no exception this time.

In his mind he is thinking; is he ready? Ready to take on the best the WCF has to offer? Ready to step out through these curtains and face the WCF Galaxy. Can he do it?

Of course he can. He did it last year. He stepped out there and took on Howard Black, Jay Omega, Mikey eXtreme, Alex Richards, Scarecrow, Jonny Fly, and Dune. He took on everyone, and he was one of the last two standing.

He didn’t win it last year, but he came close. Close enough to earn a rematch. Close enough to feel confident that he could be successful here. He just has to go through a new set of great wrestlers in order to achieve his goal.

He must face his own friend, Gemini Battle. His DRG Brother, who at this time was very, very angry with him. Bates felt guilty for this failure, but the past is done now. He must focus on the future. He was trying to repair the bond with Gemini, but was fully away of his rage. Bates felt Gemini was one of the biggest threats in the match, and still does. However, Gemini may have done himself in.

Another person who’s already done himself in; Teddy Blaze. The once great wrestler known as Teo Del Sol, unmasked he became Teddy Blaze. We found out quickly that it wasn’t just his face that was unmasked, but his soul. Teddy Blaze is an entirely different creature from Teo Del Sol, but can he live with that? Bates doesn’t think so.

He faces Zombie McMorris, again. Zombie McMorris was a good wrestler, and is without a doubt a beast in the Hardcore division. He is overconfident, and quick to underestimate his opponents. If that doesn’t spell disaster, then nothing does. Zombie McMorris is his own worst enemy tonight.

Kevin Bishop is the new superstar busting in to scene. He’s got a name to build, a legacy to create, and everything to lose. If he doesn’t perform well in this match, if he’s eliminated early, or if he doesn’t seem to give everything he has into this match, then his career may very well be over. Bates had faith in Bishop, and expected a good fight.

So many great wrestlers in this match, and then there’s Nathan Chambers. The man thinks that he is the personification of Perfection. He thinks he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, but he’s more like the mold you’ll eventually find on that bread. He has tarnished the reputation of his title, and looks to tarnish the reputation of even more. No champion in this match will allow him to do it, and Nathan Chambers is expected to have a very short run in the match.

“The Shine” Brent Alpine, a WCF veteran and a great Internet Champion. He’ll be looking to upgrade his title in the hopes that the stress will ease. He does not realize what he has to put into this match just to keep the title he has. He does not realize how much pressure it would be to constantly perform the best he could ever be, if not better, each time he comes out to the ring. The World Championship to him is an escape, but it’s an escape to a worse fate. For his sake, he needs to downsize his title and take a lesser one.

Then there is the man on top. The WCF World Champion. Already proven, already the name in the company. He is the man to beat, and everyone knows it, including himself. You would expect him to be prepared, after all, he is the Scoutmaster, yet how can you prepare yourself if you think the very reason you’re going to win, is because you are the current champion? The only Champions that don’t lose their titles, are the Champions that hold the belt as a company is folding. In spite of Seth Lerch’s best efforts, the WCF will survive. That means Stuart Slane will lose that belt. That means that Thomas Uriel Bates will give everything he has to become the new WCF World Champion.

“Midnight Rider” blares over the PA system, causing Thomas Uriel Bates to raise his head and begin walking to the curtain. The curtains are pulled back, allowing the Mountain of WCF to step out to the stage greeted by an arena full of cheers.

“I am ready for the Ultimate Showdown.”