XIII for XIII: Gravedigger wins Tijuana Street Fight
Oct 10, 2017 17:49:07 GMT -5
Alex Richards, Joey Flash, and 1 more like this
Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2017 17:49:07 GMT -5
War Mercenary
The scene opens up outside of a building that is typically a music venue but is currently being set up to house next week’s Slam. The following words appear on the bottom left corner of the screen.
The Mohawk
Austin, Texas
The scene cuts to the backstage area where Gravedigger is seen walking down a hallway. He stops at a door with a sign on it. “WCF Owner - Seth Lerch” and the words “Knock Before Entering” below it. Gravedigger kicks the door open. Seth leaps out of his chair in surprise, knocking something off of his desk, a powdery substance going everywhere.
Gravedigger waves a hand through the air, pushing it away from himself. Seth’s face turns red.
Seth Lerch: What the hell, man?!? Did you not read the sign?
Gravedigger smirks, shrugging.
Gravedigger: I don’t give a shit. I’ll enter how the fuck I want.
Seth Lerch: Look, you don’t talk to me lik---
Gravedigger cuts Seth off mid-sentence.
Gravedigger: Stow the shit, Seth. I’ve been busting my ass for you for fifteen years and this is how I fucking talk to you and you’ll get over it.
Seth Lerch: Fine, fine, Digger. I was busy so let’s get on with it so I can get back to work.
Gravedigger chuckles.
Gravedigger: Work, huh? That’s what that was? Anyway, speaking of busting my ass for you, that’s exactly what I did at War. War wasn’t about John Rabid, it wasn’t about SJW, it wasn’t about Fly or Corey Black. It was about Gravedigger. That whole pay-per-view was a fucking success because of me. That shit would have bombed without me.
I tied Odin Balfore’s record, I eliminated nearly every top pick but then the other night on Slam, you fucking tell me I have to earn a world title shot by going through Stephen Singh? Really?
Seth starts to respond but is cut off by Gravedigger.
Gravedigger: That was rhetorical, don’t answer it. Seriously though, I’m having to beat a guy who was pinned three times in one night? Have you ever seen me even be pinned twice in one night before? Not only that but you saddle me with a title shot that I’ll have to wait 9 months for while these motherfuckers in the back you call “wrestlers” get shot after shot and besmirch the title whose prestige I heavily contributed to over the years. You give the guy who was pinned by half the roster a chance at a title shot anytime he wants.
Seth rolls his eyes, sighing.
Seth Lerch: Digger, do you not get it? If you beat Singh, yes you do have to wait 9 months for your world title shot, but you get a 9-month build. You get to main event one of the biggest pay-per-views of the year and you get positioned to main event One. You won’t be going through 50 wrestlers in another grueling War match. You’ll get to face one or two people and have a far greater chance to check off one of the final bucket list items you have before finally retiring for good.
Gravedigger rubs his chin, thinking.
Gravedigger: Fine, I’ll look at the silver lining here, but I’m still pissed off about not being in the One main event THIS year which I feel I already earned. You know, I’ll just take it out on Corey Black at XIII. I hope you don’t have big money plans for him before he finally retires himself, because I’m going to crush that piece of shit this Thursday. Especially after he jumped me on Overload.
Seth leans back in his chair, connecting his hands across his stomach.
Seth Lerch: Why didn’t you just send MS-13 after him this past week?
Gravedigger shrugs.
Gravedigger: Because it’s Corey. I want to be the one that pummels him myself instead of sending my goons out after him.
Seth Lerch shrugs.
Seth Lerch: Fair enough, well let me get back to work.
Gravedigger doesn’t move. Seth starts rearranging some papers on his desk and then slowly looks up at Gravedigger.
Seth Lerch: Was….there something else?
Gravedigger smirks.
Gravedigger: Seth, don’t play games. We had an arrangement regarding the War match.
Seth chuckles and reaches into his pocket. He pulls out a wallet, opens it up and pulls out several 100 dollar bills. He slaps them into the open palm of Gravedigger which he has just extended. Gravedigger takes the cash and counts it. He then folds it and sticks it into his right pocket.
Seth Lerch: Look, I know you’re not happy about the One situation, but I still want to thank you for doing what you did at War. There was no way I wanted to have members of UCI in the final four of War.
Gravedigger shrugs.
Gravedigger: That was no coincidence that they were eliminated when they were. I knew it was the necessary moment. You paid well a few years ago when you hired me to eliminate Jay Price, too.
Seth nods as Gravedigger flips him the middle finger before turning and walking out of the office. The scene fades out as the door shuts behind him.
Power Play
I’ve tried, I really have. I never wanted to hurt JJ. I’ve just always been so bullheaded about doing things exactly my way and not always thinking about how it’s going to affect other people. I just couldn’t resist the allure of all the power that came from being a leader in Mara Salvatrucha. Having corrupt cops in my corner such as Tank and his boys didn’t really help either.
The clash with Diagur and the other local MS-13 leaders in Phoenix was inevitable. I truly feel that there was nothing I could do to avoid that. I mean Ignacio’s total display of disrespect could not go unanswered. I could not allow that to happen without retaliation. My hand was also forced in that instance as well. I needed to prove that I still had the power that a man in my position was to display. I needed to prove to those underneath me in the organization would respect me as their leader.
I needed to prove to the organization itself that I was the right man for the job when they voted me in as a leader. I also needed to prove to other gangs in the area that they could not invade my turf or even the turf of MS-13 in general in the Phoenix area.
Finally, I needed to prove it to myself that I had what it takes to be a leader in MS-13. I proved for a decade in a half in wrestling that I had what it takes to be the best and to be a leader in factions there, but obviously this is not wrestling and is really nothing like it as I quickly discovered. This is the streets. Defeat doesn’t mean you’re just simply off the street for a few weeks or a month, defeat means death. Weakness means death.
But, I should have been smarter about it. I should have considered JJ’s feelings. I should have considered how this would affect her brother Diagur. I should have considered how this would affect my people. While I do not regret becoming a leader in MS-13, it could not have happened at a worse time. A time when I am fighting tooth and nail to regain my spot at the top of the WCF mountain. Distractions are abound and I am not always thinking clearly, but with War over in WCF, I am now more focused on my actions as a MS-13 leader.
“Thank you, Gravedigger, but that doesn’t really answer our concerns.”
There is a murmur of conversation in the background as the scene fades in. The scene is in a large villa at a huge dinner table. Over a dozen Hispanic men are seated at the table with various Mexican foods on their plates and on serving dishes between them. Gravedigger is at one seat, standing up with it pushed back behind him. Standing in the corner, eating a burrito on a small plate, is his friend Adrian. Aside from Adrian, no one else in the room is recognizable. The following words appear in the corner of the screen.
Undisclosed Location
Tijuana, Mexico
Gravedigger turns to the voice with the slightest look of annoyance on his face.
The voice belongs to a man in a button down red silk dress shirt and a black tie. The man is leaning forward in his chair, his hands steepled on the table in front of him. The man continues speaking.
Man: Gravedigger, we have real concerns about your leadership in our organization.
Gravedigger: I’ve brought results, money is higher, product moves faster, we’ve got more of the market share in places like Phoenix than we have ever had before.
The man in the red dress shirt sighs.
Man: That’s the problem, Gravedigger. The market share. The market share has increased primarily to your benefit. Yes, you pay tribute to the organization as a whole, but at the same time you have upset the balance in Phoenix. You have pushed people out.
Gravedigger: People like who? The 1500 Benjys?
The man shakes his head.
Man: Not only them but you pushed out your fellow MS-13 leaders in Phoenix.
Gravedigger chuckles.
Gravedigger: I don’t know where you’ve been getting your information from, but I never really pushed anyone out who was part of MS-13.
The man starts to respond but Gravedigger interrupts him.
Gravedigger: And before you say Ignacio’s name, that motherfucker pushed me. He cornered me and forced me to react. I simply took over his territory once he was out of action so that the 1500 Benjys or some other group didn’t move in.
The man crosses his arms over his chest as Gravedigger continues.
Gravedigger: As for any other member of MS-13 who lost territory, they lost it because they either stepped up to me like Ignacio and challenged me or they started losing it to some other gang altogether. With the exception of Diagur’s territories, nearly all of Phoenix now belongs to me.
The man starts to respond again but is once more interrupted by Gravedigger as he corrects himself.
Gravedigger: AND as a result, MS-13. I’ve united that city under the banner of Mara Salvatrucha. Even the cops don’t dare touch us now and not just because of the BAMF Squad either.
Man: Yes, but the bigger issue here is that you’ve now expanded beyond Phoenix. We’ve now received word that you’ve expanded along the southern border of New Mexico. We convened this council here today, because we have received word that you are thinking of expanding west into California and eventually here into Mexico.
Gravedigger grins but says nothing in response. The man pauses, waiting for a response, and then finally continues.
Man: I will take your silence as you not denying this. We are advising you to not do this.
Gravedigger leans forward, an interested look on his face.
Gravedigger: Or what?
The man leans back and lets out a frustrated sigh.
Man: Gravedigger, this is Mexico as I’m sure you’re aware. You may be a celebrity here and have spent a lot of time here over the years, but the world of Mexico when it comes to the gang culture and how we operate in this country differs from how the United States chapters operate. Everything is organized in such a way as to work as perfectly as it does.
Gravedigger chuckles softly. He glances around the room before responding.
Gravedigger: So, you’re saying that you don’t want the boat rocked because you’re all happy getting fat off of the work of others? You all call yourself leaders of MS-13 but when I look around, I see nothing but soft hands. I see a group of people who probably haven’t been out on the streets in a really, really long time...if ever.
The rumors are right. I do plan on eventually expanding into Mexico, but that’s a long time from now.
This sets off a loud murmur of conversation among the men at the table. The man in the red dress shirt speaks up.
Man: Gravedigger, I highly advise you to rethink this course of action. We will be forced to stop you if you insist.
Gravedigger backs up his chair and stands up. Adrian tenses up and several other men jump up from their seats, mostly out of fear and worry about why Gravedigger jumped up so fast. Gravedigger balls his fists and leans them on the table, leaning towards the man in the red dress shirt.
Gravedigger: I’d like to see you try.
The scene fades out.
I Am Legend
The scene opens up in a stadium. More specifically a press box style booth at the top of the stadium. Down below in the middle the crowd roars at the lucha libre action going on in the ring in the middle of it. Several masked wrestlers fly across the ring, hitting each other with awe inspiring moves to the delight of the crowd.
The camera pans around in the booth to show Gravedigger seated in a stadium seat with a couple of gorgeous Hispanic women at his sides. Gravedigger’s eyes grow wide at a big moment in the match below. He finally realizes the camera is there in the booth with him and he turns to it.
Gravedigger: So it’s that time again. Time for XIII. Corey is coming off of what is being called a huge win over Jonny Fly while I had a huge showing in the War match, just narrowly losing the match to the winner, SJW.
As everyone saw on Slam, I was denied my final chance at getting into this year’s One main event. There’s the chance of a world title shot and possible One main event spot for next year, but that is then this is now. And now...now I’m pissed off and the person standing in front of me, the one that commands my full attention and the one who will feel my wrath at being denied what I feel I have earned is Corey Black. XIII. A pay-per-view I have a roller coaster of a record with. I win some matches, I lose others. This match is one of the final stops on the Corey Black Retirement Tour and could very well be THE last.
So Corey is in the main event of both nights, fighting first me, then Joey Flash. The thing is, Corey Black is not the favorite in either encounter whether he wants to believe he is or not. It’s the theme of Corey Black’s career though, from his early days until his final days in 2017.
Corey Black has spent his entire career trying not to be dismissed and pushed to the back of everyone’s mind. The guy debuted here a year before I did and the biggest accomplishment he had was winning the Tag Team titles. I walked in the door and a few matches later, along with my brother, we absolutely demolished Corey who was then wrestling as Creeping Death along with Rick Mad and became Tag Team champions.
Corey then watched as after the fed returned a year later, I immediately surpassed him by winning the World title and War IV. While I was ruling at the top of the company, he was toiling at the bottom with the TV title, facing nobodies. He only truly started his ascent here in the company because I got injured during our triple threat match with Hellz Angel.
Let me say that again: Corey Black is a multi-time world champion, a legend, and a Hall of Famer in this company only because I got injured. Otherwise we may not even have XIII. You’re welcome, Corey. My injury was to your benefit.
Many years later, in 2009, Corey was in a world title match with Torture and he was pushed into the back of everyone’s mind by me once again when I inserted myself into their match. His entire feud with Torture in 2009 was overshadowed by the storyline of me controlling WCF as then-owner.
Then let’s look at some of his biggest feuds in his career. His feuds with Odin Balfore and Jonny Fly were him in the background. Even when he was winning matches against them, he was still in the background in everyone’s minds. Every Pantheon iteration that Corey was part of, even when he was supposed to be the leader, he was always in the background, just attaching his name to remain relevant.
Speaking of the concept of relevance, one of the biggest criticisms guys like Corey Black, Logan, Torture, and myself have dealt with from the new blood of WCF over the years is relevance. To maintain our relevance, we did many things. Logan went for multiple War wins, Torture came back and won the world title in huge, memorable storylines. I came back and went from the bottom to the top all over again, beating all the big names for World titles and being an owner of the company.
What did Corey Black do to remain relevant? He creates a special show called XIII whose sole focus nearly every time is all about him. It was funny that months ago he told me that I needed to learn some humility yet this motherfucker has XIII. It’s not for the fans, it’s not for the wrestlers. Again, it’s for Corey Black. Over the years he has made damn sure that everyone respects XIII, not by proving that it should be respected but by bitching at people on Twitter when they bash it. He makes damn sure that people in WCF don’t feel that they automatically qualify for XIII just because they get a WCF paycheck. He makes sure that people don’t forget that he runs the show. This motherfucker has the nerve to claim that I have one of the biggest egos.
What else did Corey Black do to try and remain relevant? He joins multiple formations of the same faction in which each one led by him all end up being failed attempts that crumble apart in the end. Name me a great faction in wrestling history who formed MULTIPLE times and half their formations just accepted whoever was hot shit at the time instead of making it exclusive? It’s ironic that the guy who creates an exclusive show called XIII will just let about anybody into formations of Pantheon.
So what about his one last grasp of relevance here in WCF? The Corey Black Retirement Tour. Its announcement last December, had the fed turned on its fed buzzing all about it. The final set of matches for Corey Black before he retired. Even I jumped on that since we’d only faced a couple of times. This was a series of matches that was intended to fill out the entire calendar year where you’d face someone each month at the monthly pay-per-views. Again...how did something with your name attached to it go for you, Corey?
It fucking bombed. What a disaster it has been. I mean by One, you won’t even have filled out all your matches that you were set to have this year including our match at XIII and your One match. You had to fill in the gaps by facing some men twice. Over a fourth of your matches didn’t even have a real ending, many of them had to be done again, being aired on Slam.
But see, that’s the thing, when you’re Corey Black. You have to go to these Herculean efforts to make people remember who you are. You have guys like Doc Henry and Adam Young obsessing over you, obsessing over the idea of beating you. Why? Jealousy? Stardom? Nah, you never see guys like Doc Henry or Adam Young or the equivalent of either man stalking legends like Bobby Cairo, Odin Balfore, Torture, Logan, Jonny Fly, Joey Flash, or even myself. Nah, we don’t have glorified jobbers hounding us because they know they don’t stand a chance. But you? It just goes to show how the jobbers view you that they think they have a shot.
You’ve called this a Retirement Tour and looking back at these past 10 months, it’s looked more like a Post-Retirement Tour. You’ve had such a disaster while I’m over here also winding down my WCF career by being part of the top moments of the year and in the biggest matches of the year.
While you were fighting FPV and Kevin Bishop multiple times, and random returnees such as Crow McMorris and Scarecrow, I was in the finals of Trios, at your expense. I was in Ultimate Showdown. I was runner-up in War. Yeah, in the end I didn’t win those matches, but I was still there proving it one last time that I still had it.
Did you prove that you still had it by beating guys like FPV or Kevin Bishop? Did you prove that you still had it by no contests against some of these same guys or even Crow McMorris and Scarecrow? Did you prove that you still had it by beating Jonny Fly? I mean sure, Fly doesn’t lose often, we all know that, but the man has practically been retired for a year or two and you’re here wrestling several times per month and just BARELY squeak past him with a win.
You should have just called this the Corey Black RETIRED Tour. I hear you’ll be facing Joey Flash the night after our match, but that’s going to be a walk in the park for Joey Flash. Not because he’s Joey Flash, nah. It’s because I’m going to bury you in our XIII match. Joey Flash is going to have to rent a backhoe and dig your carcass up and carry you to the ring, pay off a referee to start the match just so he can put his foot on your chest for the three count.
But enough talk about your encounters with others, let’s move onto us. I spent the last few minutes digging out the spot for your grave. I’m now going to nudge your carcass into the grave with my boot and spend the next few minutes shoveling the dirt back onto your dead body as I finish you off before we even have our match Thursday.
Corey Black versus Gravedigger in a Tijuana Street Fight. Corey, I’m not sure what was going through your mind when you decided to have this show in Tijuana knowing our match is one of the biggest on the card. I mean were you trying to have it in what you think is an exotic location? Did you think you were doing me a favor by giving me some kind of advantage by having it in my type of neighborhood? Do you think I need an advantage against you? Huh? Do you?
I don’t, but hey, thanks for making me look good and giving me an easy win. See, not only were you dumb enough to book it in my corner of the woods, but you book a street fight? Corey, I know you see yourself as this durable guy with a slight bit of hardcore edge to you, but I’m the Epitome of Hardcore. I’m also a member of Mara Salvatrucha as everyone in WCF knows and not only am I a member, I’m a leader in the group. And you’re going to put yourself right into the thick of it with a street fight?
Gravedigger shakes his head making a tsk tsk noise.
Gravedigger: Corey, do you not want to make it to Friday night and face Joey Flash? Do you not want to make it to One for your last match? Do you not want to make it to your final match? Are you tired at this point and just wanting to get it over with? Have these past 10 months just been harder than you expected? This match of ours isn’t going to end in some kind of bullshit indefinite ending. There will be an ending, me pummeling you into the ground and burying you in front of everyone.
I won’t go easy on you since you’ll be having more matches. As far as I’m concerned, Corey, our match at XIII is your final match in WCF. You’ll be buried in front of the world as you lose your final match in your career. Joey Flash can just suck a dick for all I care. He won’t get to have that match with you that he’s wanted all year. Over in UCI where you’re also wrestling, you’ll be vacating that UCI Hypermedia Championship.
I told you my final matches in wrestling didn’t need to be hyped up like yours with some kind of name attached to them like your Retirement Tour has been. Nah, my matches are hyped up all on their own. When people see your matches, they’re like oh cool, it’s Corey Black he’s a Hall of Famer and WCF Legend. When people see mine, they’re like OH SHIT, it’s Gravedigger. He’s a Hall of Famer and WCF Legend who can still go. I blow their minds every match about how hard I am to put down.
At War, I eliminated nearly every favorite to win that match. The last TWENTY FIVE minutes of the War match featured me burying participant after participant and avoiding elimination as I was jumped by over half a dozen people in quick succession. I know you’re going to get triggered at me bragging about how I do at War. But I mean hey, you have always had a mediocre if not shitty showing in your War matches. This is because guys like you, Corey, you’re not built for matches like that. You would have crumpled and gone down after the first couple of minutes, no way you would have lasted 25 minutes of pure chaos where you’re fighting to not be eliminated and take other opponents out. Just to be clear, I was in the match for more than 25 minutes, I’m simply talking about the home stretch of the match where I was attacked. Face the facts, Corey, you’re not built for multi-man matches as it was proven at Trios earlier this year. You’re the kinda wrestler who is built for singles matches only. Sure not having other people stand in for you in multi-man matches or tag matches makes the matches harder, but in singles matches, you get to focus on just one guy.
But me? I’m built for hardcore matches. I’m built for multi-man matches. I’m built for singles matches. I’m built for all matches. You may have a couple of more world title wins than me and a couple of other belts to your name, but I have and always will be your superior in every other way here in WCF, Corey. That’s never going to change. That won’t change on Thursday in our XIII match. You brag about all your tournament wins, but the thing is no one other than you remembers that. People remember the world title wins, they remember the War wins, they remember people owning the company, they remember people leading a faction. I mean you yourself rattled these things off before our Trios match about me like you remembered them easily, because people do.
Like I keep saying. I’m going to bury you. You’re going to wish that last December when you announced your Retirement Tour that I had never shown interest and challenged you to a match. When we face off this Thursday, you’re not facing guys who haven’t really wrestled in a couple of years like Jeff Purse or Jonny Fly. You’re not facing mid-card wrestlers like FPV, Kevin Bishop, Crow McMorris, or Scarecrow.
You’re facing a fellow Hall of Famer and Legend who is going stronger than you and nearly everyone else in this company is going RIGHT NOW. I’m out there multiple times per month busting my ass, winning the occasional match. I’m the one matching up against the best this fed has to offer, people half my age. I’m not even slowing down either. You’re facing one of the biggest and best wrestlers WCF has had for 15 of its 16 years of existence. You’re facing GRAVEDIGGER and I WILL BURY YOU!
Gravedigger flexes at the screen and roars out with an intense look on his face as the scene finally fades to black.
