Inside the dressing room of Black Jack McGraw, we see the embattled warrior standing in front of a mirror, looking at the bruises and stitches he received at the hands of the Anti-Establishment. As he looks into the mirror, and the traces of gray in his hair outline the face of a mad man, Black Jack looks down onto a table. There, he picks up a magazine entitled “Wrestling Today”. He then picks it up and just stares at the cover. As the camera pans around the room, we now can see that on that very cover is a picture of the Honor World Heavyweight Champion, Ace Montana. Behind him stand Well N Dowd. He gives it some very hard looks, but finally wads it up and tosses it into a waste paper basket. As it lands, we see the remains of Ace’s cocky smile gracing the cover. McGraw then looks back at the mirror, still with a deranged look about him. Just as he turns to leave, he punches it, leaving pieces of glass to decorate the floor, like snow on a winter’s morning. He begins to rumble along to the door. Just as he touches the knob and begins to exit, Sean O’Leary is outside. Black Jack gives a rather surprised look as he sees that Sean has come with his microphone in hand and a camera crew.
Sean: B.J., is there any chance I might could get to do an interview?
McGraw instantly flips from a sour expression to a smile on his toothless mug.
McGraw: Nice to see you, Sean. Why not. I was just thinking about my match this week.
Sean: Well, on the last Redemption, we all saw how you took it to our current World’s Champion. You proved to all the world that you can go in the ring, even without hardcore stipulations. Of course, the match ended after Brian Well and Jimmy Dowd came and interfered. What are your feelings on that?
McGraw just gives a sigh, and then looks at Sean for a second.
McGraw: Sean, are you trying to write some sort of history book here? What was that?
Sean: Well it was…
O’Leary looks very nervous, and judging from the looks of McGraw, it may not be a good time for him to ask the wrong questions.
McGraw: Wait, Wait, Wait! Calm down, Sean…. Sean…. Did you just piss your pants?
Sean: (Nervously, yet defensive.) Ah, No….
McGraw: Are your sure?
Sean: Come on, B.J. what sort of question is that?
McGraw: Exactly! I got you, didn’t I? (Smirking) You see, Sean, that question to you was no better than the question you just posed to me. How did I feel about being jumped? How did I feel about having the World title stolen from me by two punks? It feels a little embarrassing, huh, Sean?
Sean just looks at him and straightens his tie.
McGraw: Seriously, Sean, I came out and did exactly what I said I was going to do. I took Ace and I gave him the match of his life. Last week, two out of shape old timers went out there and we fought like we were twenty one again. He would hit me, and I would hit harder. I would nail him with a move and he would rattle my brains with one of his. You see, that’s how matches are supposed to go. You give and you get. But you see, as I said before, Sean, Ace is a burnt out shell of what he once was. In a few years, when he sits down to tell the world about his glorious career he had, all he’ll be able to point back to are cheap shots and having his friends protect his ass, because he didn’t have the balls to step it up and do his own fighting. That’s the truth, plain and simple. You see, this week, I gave you all I had, dug down and pulled out more and had you beat! I took you to Hell and back and they buried you again. Just when I had you ready for the end, your two lackeys, had to come down and save your ass. I guess that’s how you do things now, Ace. I’m sure in that mansion you live in, you have a guy to cut your meat and someone to wipe your ass. After all, if you don’t even work for what you have, why would you do anything else for yourself?
Sean: Well, most say you had the belt. Some even say you are the rightful champion. What can you tell the people who say that?
McGraw: Well, it’s simple. They are right. Look at me, Sean. That was a once in a lifetime shot. I took the man who is supposed to be the greatest wrestler in the business today, and had him down for the three count. Still, they are wrong. Look at me. Do I have a gold strap over my shoulder? No! Instead, I have these stitches in my head and this big shiner to show for my efforts. Then you have Well N Dowd walking out, laughing all the way back as they protected their boss one more time. Really, Sean, as I see it, until Ace is willing to grow a set and face me again, he doesn’t have the right to call himself anything, especially a champion. At best, he can say he is using the title until I claim it! As for those two pretty boys who always prank down to the ring, and cater to him, as if they were a waiters in a restaurant all I can say is, their time is coming. You see, Sean, not only are my eyes on Montana, but his goons as well. I don’t care if I get them in a regular match. I don’t care if it’s hardcore or even a cage match, I want to see them BLEED! I want to see them CUT OPEN! I want to see them wiggle around on the mat and suffer like the Grim Reaper himself is snatching their souls from their bodies. Just as they turn blue, and all the warmth has faded from their bodies, then, I nail a huge Slobber Knocker on Montana and take the World title. That is, if any of them three have the guts to get into a ring with me EVER again!
Sean: Well, you may not have to wait as long as you thing.
McGraw looks very wildly at this statement.
McGraw: What do you mean, Sean?
Sean: Well, one of the main reasons I came down here for was, Mr. Rutherford just put you in a number one contenders match. The winner will get a shot at Ace Montana.
With this, Black Jack grabs Sean and hugs him.
Sean: Wait, wait! Don’t you want to know who you are facing?
McGraw: For a chance to get my hands on Montana, I would take on an army. It doesn’t matter who it is, or what they may thing they can do.
Sean: Well, B.J. this week, you face Kid X and Jack Daniels Reigns for that chance. Neither of them are exactly pushovers.
McGraw gives and evil smirk to the camera and then looks at Sean.
McGraw: Now, there’s a blast from the past! Reigns! The last time I saw him, he was running around a locker room and getting in trouble for trying to sneak into the lady wrestlers’ show stall! Yeah, how we grow up. That little punk kid, whose dad used to beat him over and over for stupid crap like that now wants to get into the ring with me? HA, HA, HA! J.D. I realize you aren’t twelve anymore. I realize you have been in this business for a while, but boy, you had better talk to your old man about what violence really is before you come and get into a match with me. You see, J.D., I know you have overcome a lot. I know you had that wreck. Hell, I know you even are wrestling when people say you shouldn’t. Bravo! Join the damn club, Kid! Every time I hear you come on Honor television, all I hear is how you overcame the odds. Now, granted, I’m not knocking you. I’m not insulting you at all. It took a lot of guts to come back after having a leg nearly ripped off, but that was just one even.
He then begins to point to areas of his body.
McGraw: You see this ear, Jack? I had it ripped off in Japan by one of the most hardcore guys they have ever produced over there. You see these scars on my forehead? That’s from getting hit with everything from two by fours to being drug by the hair against barbed wire. Now, look at this leg. (He exposes his right leg that is completely scared up. He knee is extremely scared.) This knee, J.D., I had it shattered by a set of ring steps over in Germany. You talk about YOUR pain! You talk about YOUR comeback! Hell, every day I get to come out here is a gift! I should have been retired way before now! The fact is though, I just don’t care, J.D. Can you say that? Are you willing to put that bad leg or better yet, your good one on the line for one night? Are you willing to risk walking for a strap of gold?
He pauses, and looks back at Sean. As he does, he pulls out a pocket knife and begins to trim his finger nails. His hand shakes a bit as he does this.
McGraw: Then, there’s Kid X. Now, all I have to say to him is, since when do side kicks get shots at world titles?
Sean: Well, Kid X has been on a roll…
McGraw: Actually, Sean, it was a rhetorical question, but thanks for trying to explain to all our viewers out there. Kid, it’s just like with J.D. You have been picking up your wins and I must say, you have been impressive. I saw you come here and beat several well known guys. Still, I know you are a member of the xWo. Now, my question is this. Did Shatter give you PERMISSION to go for the world title? Do you think Shatter will approve of his comic relief outshining him? Really, just from the matches of yours I have seen, do you really think you are ready to step into the ring with someone who has no idea of pain? Are you ready to step into the ring with someone who has no remorse for what he does? Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. You see me on here now. I’m smiling, talking to Sean. When I come out to the ring, I deliver a few cheap pops and laugh with the fans. Just keep thinking that. Just because you see me as a clown, just remember, it’s very hard to go through life and no one takes you seriously. It’s very hard to live a life, where people don’t have the same vision of things as you do. Years ago, I saw wrestling as a chance to bring more excitement into the homes of the fans. I saw it as a chance to give the people just sense of some of the violent ideas I have had in my mind since childhood. During that period in my life, I remembered great moments in this business and asked, “what if he would have used a steel chair to bash his head in, rather than just doing a simple move?” “ What if, the ropes were made of barbed wire?” You see, for thinking that way, a lot of fat cats, like our current champion cringed at the idea. They saw their job security slipping away. Oh, what if they got hurt. Oh, what if one of these crazy matches shortens their careers. Now, we have a group of insiders who basically take no risks and for the fans, there are no rewards. I was barred from this business for saying, what if! But, I have a very simple promise for you, Kid X and you, J.D., since you have to be in the ring with me this week, I’m going to take that question away from you. You will not have to ask, “What if he breaks my nose”. You will not have to ask, “What if he rakes my face across the ropes”. The simple reason for that is, it WILL happen! Boys, you are fighting Black Jack McGraw this week. The one thing I will promise you is, you will not have a nice night! HA, HA, HA!
Sean: Is there anything else you would like to say to everyone.
McGraw: Only to turn in to this week’s Redemption and see just how far I WILL take it to so that I can get my hands back on our World Champion!
With that, he walks away from Sean.
Sean: Well, you heard it fans. Black Jack McGraw is ready to take it to the next level in order to get a rematch at our champion. Tune in to see just how wild this one can get.
