Post by gzavadak on Sept 12, 2013 22:57:46 GMT -5
In August 2012, one of the professional wrestling industry’s greatest fears came true when “The Evangelist” Jerry Matthews and Deacon Jeremiah Robinson made their collective return, with a newfound intensity to their mission that some might have found lacking in their initial four month run with Shootcamp Championship Wrestling, which had unceremoniously ended when the newly signed Alex Van Gogh had assaulted the Southern Baptist with a metal paintbrush, attempting to render one of his eyes useless.
The doctors had told him that stepping back into the ring would easily be the most foolish decision he’d ever make. Needless to say, none of them were exactly swayed by the good Reverend’s insistence that he had a divine mandate to serve. Instead, they’d looked at him as if the words were coming from Joliet Jake or Elwood Blues. And while it killed him to stay out of the ring, he was reluctant to undo all the hours of surgery it had taken to save his eye. And, thus, he waited.
But, eventually he worked up the strength to begin exploring a return, and even received medical clearance from a doctor in his congregation. It wasn’t long after that that the good Reverend made his debut in a Scars of Wrestling Cup qualifying battle royal. And while he was unable to claim victory, he had succeeded in getting the biggest monkey one could imagine off of his back. After a four year layover, his quest to redeem humanity had been renewed.
It didn’t take long for the preacher man to finally find the first real legitimate target he had come across in years when he was first laid out in the midst of a PCW Platinum title match with Adrien Cochrane by Draven Logan Kennedy and the rest of Dawn of a New Age. Here was a man who was a self-avowed Satanist, the self-proclaimed Antichrist of PCW. He had raped an innocent woman for simply not accepting an invitation to join him at his side, and he had overseen any number of gangland style beatings through the hands of Remi Lebeau and his other stooges. Being struck down by a group of devil worshipers was hardly what he had envisioned for himself and the Deacon in the company.
Many had examined the probable odds of success he might have in his quest to unseat Kennedy, who had regained the PCW Platinum Championship at Anarchy. On one side, you had a relative newcomer who had only wrestled a handful of matches in the company. And on the other, you had the promotion’s resident madman. The only two-time Platinum Champion PCW had ever seen and an active member of the Hall of Fame. No one had given Matthews a snowball’s chance in hell of success. Little did they know they couldn’t have been more mistaken.
Because “The Evangelist” couldn’t have proven to be more successful. Undaunted at going against one of PCW’s mainstays, he successfully kidnapped Alice Humes Kennedy after she had sustained an injury before a Fatal Four Way tag team match on an episode of Saturday Night Rapture. It had served to garner the champion’s attention, and also left him without the thing he loved most in the world, championship be damned. And as the weeks went by, not only did Draven’s mental state continue to deteriorate, but he had also agreed to put his championship on the line at Struggle for Power in a Buried Alive match.
While he may have needed a little help, Matthews succeeded in vanquishing this vile demon and burying him six feet under, though not before making sure that Draven and Alice had a rightful reunion. He had shocked the wrestling world, buried a Hall of Famer alive, and torn him down brick by brick. The good Reverend’s tenure as Platinum Champion needs no additional exposition.
A similar situation had cropped up when “The Evangelist” had defiantly gone out to the ring at Rapture two weeks ago and called out one of the biggest names in PCW history in the “Aussie Psycho” Curtis Wilkes, all in an attempt to prove to Morgan Simmons and Terrell Ryder that the time had come for him to be considered a contender for the PCW World Heavyweight Championship. Perhaps he had been trying to rekindle some of the fire that had enabled him to defeat Draven so decisively. To capture some of the same motivation that had led him to success. All in all, the coming weeks would prove to be some of the biggest his PCW career had ever seen, and it all started with getting another chance at finally making sure that one of the first demons of his PCW career stayed dead.
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The scene opens to the locker room of “The Evangelist” Jerry Matthews. He is seen kneeling in the middle of the room, and he is wearing a white cotton suit. He is facing the far wall. Out of curiosity the camera pans towards the wall and finds the same Druidic figure from the last edition of Rapture standing there, arms folded. Once again, the figure’s head is concealed by a large hood, its identity left up as anyone’s guess.
Jerry Matthews: For so long, that insolent fool has talked about what he would do should he finally get a chance at revenge. For all of the pain and heartbreak I caused him. For someone who worships the Great Temptor, it doesn’t seem like Draven possesses the sense of intuition and planning you’d think he would.
The figure remains leaning against the wall, deathly silent.
Jerry Matthews: It appears that he will never come to understand my true motives. That our little holy war had nothing to do with his championship, but with the life he had chosen. And, that when I kidnapped his precious Alice, it was with the best of intentions. I know that you saw when I attempted to exorcise her of all the demons that ailed her, to free her from the tyrannical clutches of her unclean husband. Definitely not one of my ministry’s brighter moments, if I do say so myself.
Again, the figure doesn’t utter a word.
Jerry Matthews: Much has changed in the nine months since I last faced off with Kennedy. No longer am I viewed as an underdog, never again can I hope to hide in the shadows and strike as precisely as the hunting cobra. I became the greatest single reigning champion PCW has ever, or will ever, see. And, soon, master, with you by my side, the ultimate prize will be wrapped around my waist. No longer will PCW be locked in a perennial power struggle between Team Lethality and the Disciples of Syn. The people will have a champion with no political motives or agenda, that is other than their collective salvation from the eternal furnace. So it shall be, the good grace of the Lord God willing.
The preacher man makes the sign of the cross. The figure nods its head up and down slowly in approval. The figure replies to its willing servant, its voice once again sounding as if it stems from some sort of synthesizer.
Figure: Never before, my student, have you been as dangerous as you are now. One by one, all of our enemies fall by your hand with relative ease. But, do not allow yourself to become distracted. Otherwise, as someone chasing a leaf in the wind, our goal will elude us, and all of our work shall be for naught.
Jerry Matthews: As you instruct, master. Just as Socrates taught so many, I hold you in similar esteem. I will not succumb to the weaknesses and inconsistencies that are inherent in all of man. I will rise above, and claim what is rightfully mine. And, soon, Premium Championship Wrestling will be ours for the taking.
Figure: For the immediate future, you should only concern yourself with two goals, my son.
Jerry Matthews: And what would those be, teacher?
Figure: The one who was once thought to be dead must finally be put to rest. And those who would consider themselves amongst the “Elite” must experience a fall from grace.
Jerry Matthews: As you wish. I will inform the Deacon of the details.
Matthews rises to his feet and crosses himself once more. He then leaves his locker room, and the camera pans in on the “higher” power he appears to be serving so willingly as the scene fades to black.
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The scene opens to the former site of Redemption Baptist Church. The burnt out frame still stands, its presence not nearly as commanding over the property as it had been prior to the arson committed by Ryan “The Reaper” Robinson and other members of Team Lethality. However, it would appear that one of the parcel’s more infamous sites remained undisturbed by this vandalism.
Gathered on the spot where the church’s pavilion once stood is a very small, tight-knit group of the church’s former parishioners. They are all dressed in black, and are gathered around a small crucifix sticking out of the ground. To know what lies underneath this holy symbol, however, you had to be there.
Standing behind a pulpit placed next to this anonymous marker is the Reverend Jerry Matthews. He is wearing his usual Sunday best, and appears ready to mark what is presumed to be a solemn occasion.
Jerry Matthews: Brothers and sisters, today, we are gathered here to honor an innocent life that had to be sacrificed due to the horribly long laundry list of the sins of one man, perhaps one of the greatest evils to ever wrestle in a PCW ring in Draven Logan Kennedy. For, my faithful flock, you see it was Draven’s penchant for brutal rapes, devil worshipping, and heinous attacks that led not only me but the rest of our congregation to act as judge, jury and executioner for this poor man.
Matthews motions towards the crucifix.
Jerry Matthews: Because you see, despite Draven’s conduct, he still had gained a following the likes of which every wrestler dreams about when they lace up their boots. Despite all that he stood for and all of its evil, he still proved capable of gathering an entourage of admirers. And, undoubtedly, rather than warn all of his fans of the fate that awaited them should they continue their sinful infatuation, he chose to let it be. Such it is when one seeks to corrupt the hearts and minds of otherwise good, God-fearing people.
The preacher man makes the sign of the cross.
Jerry Matthews: Nine months ago, this man was sacrificed to show what type of fate lied in Draven’s immediate future at Struggle for Power. He shrugged it off. Perhaps he thought that I was merely just another challenger, plagued by inexperience and my vision clouded by an ideology that disgusted him so. After all, this was a man who had made any number of title defenses, defeated any number of quality opponents. Let the fate that befell him serve as a warning, brothers and sisters. As an example of what happens when you let your pride get the better of you.
Matthews begins to shake his head back and forth whilst his small audience begin to cross themselves.
Jerry Matthews: Unfortunately, like some zombie from a George Romero film, Draven refused to stay down, to accept that he had been bested in every sense of the term. He proved unwilling to consider the dangerous position he had left his precious Alice in when Jeremiah and I drove her away in that ambulance. He refused to accept the fact that I had rendered him a mere shell of his former competitive self. That without his wife or his title, he had nothing left.
"He has persevered, my children. And now, he will get the chance he has undoubtedly been having wet dreams about for the better part of a year. The chance to get revenge on the man that nearly ended his prestigious career. His persistence has proven to be as irritating as a splinter, and has only served to prove his insolence. While this is a normal quality that would deserve any modicum of praise should they be displayed by one of the saved, that couldn’t be further from the truth in this case. Because, Draven is merely proving himself to be just like the devil he loves and knows so well. Neither he, nor Satan, will stop until all that God has created has been corrupted beyond the point of saving or killed. As a pastor, and as part of my divine mission, cannot and will not stand for this."
Matthews pounds his fist on the pulpit, his audience quickly raising to attention.
Jerry Matthews: Because, now, the time has come for me to finish the job I started at Struggle for Power nine months ago. To finally purify PCW of the devil that is Draven Logan Kennedy once and for all. And, while he will no doubt do whatever he can to stack the deck in his favor, the Lord God has already informed me of how pitifully these attempts will fail. After this edition of Saturday Night Rapture, Draven Logan Kennedy shall rest in peace, and all will be well. The Word of the Lord, Thanks Be to God.
Matthews crosses himself, and he is joined in doing so by the few parishioners present. They all bow their head collectively for a moment of prayer and the scene fades to black.
The doctors had told him that stepping back into the ring would easily be the most foolish decision he’d ever make. Needless to say, none of them were exactly swayed by the good Reverend’s insistence that he had a divine mandate to serve. Instead, they’d looked at him as if the words were coming from Joliet Jake or Elwood Blues. And while it killed him to stay out of the ring, he was reluctant to undo all the hours of surgery it had taken to save his eye. And, thus, he waited.
But, eventually he worked up the strength to begin exploring a return, and even received medical clearance from a doctor in his congregation. It wasn’t long after that that the good Reverend made his debut in a Scars of Wrestling Cup qualifying battle royal. And while he was unable to claim victory, he had succeeded in getting the biggest monkey one could imagine off of his back. After a four year layover, his quest to redeem humanity had been renewed.
It didn’t take long for the preacher man to finally find the first real legitimate target he had come across in years when he was first laid out in the midst of a PCW Platinum title match with Adrien Cochrane by Draven Logan Kennedy and the rest of Dawn of a New Age. Here was a man who was a self-avowed Satanist, the self-proclaimed Antichrist of PCW. He had raped an innocent woman for simply not accepting an invitation to join him at his side, and he had overseen any number of gangland style beatings through the hands of Remi Lebeau and his other stooges. Being struck down by a group of devil worshipers was hardly what he had envisioned for himself and the Deacon in the company.
Many had examined the probable odds of success he might have in his quest to unseat Kennedy, who had regained the PCW Platinum Championship at Anarchy. On one side, you had a relative newcomer who had only wrestled a handful of matches in the company. And on the other, you had the promotion’s resident madman. The only two-time Platinum Champion PCW had ever seen and an active member of the Hall of Fame. No one had given Matthews a snowball’s chance in hell of success. Little did they know they couldn’t have been more mistaken.
Because “The Evangelist” couldn’t have proven to be more successful. Undaunted at going against one of PCW’s mainstays, he successfully kidnapped Alice Humes Kennedy after she had sustained an injury before a Fatal Four Way tag team match on an episode of Saturday Night Rapture. It had served to garner the champion’s attention, and also left him without the thing he loved most in the world, championship be damned. And as the weeks went by, not only did Draven’s mental state continue to deteriorate, but he had also agreed to put his championship on the line at Struggle for Power in a Buried Alive match.
While he may have needed a little help, Matthews succeeded in vanquishing this vile demon and burying him six feet under, though not before making sure that Draven and Alice had a rightful reunion. He had shocked the wrestling world, buried a Hall of Famer alive, and torn him down brick by brick. The good Reverend’s tenure as Platinum Champion needs no additional exposition.
A similar situation had cropped up when “The Evangelist” had defiantly gone out to the ring at Rapture two weeks ago and called out one of the biggest names in PCW history in the “Aussie Psycho” Curtis Wilkes, all in an attempt to prove to Morgan Simmons and Terrell Ryder that the time had come for him to be considered a contender for the PCW World Heavyweight Championship. Perhaps he had been trying to rekindle some of the fire that had enabled him to defeat Draven so decisively. To capture some of the same motivation that had led him to success. All in all, the coming weeks would prove to be some of the biggest his PCW career had ever seen, and it all started with getting another chance at finally making sure that one of the first demons of his PCW career stayed dead.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The scene opens to the locker room of “The Evangelist” Jerry Matthews. He is seen kneeling in the middle of the room, and he is wearing a white cotton suit. He is facing the far wall. Out of curiosity the camera pans towards the wall and finds the same Druidic figure from the last edition of Rapture standing there, arms folded. Once again, the figure’s head is concealed by a large hood, its identity left up as anyone’s guess.
Jerry Matthews: For so long, that insolent fool has talked about what he would do should he finally get a chance at revenge. For all of the pain and heartbreak I caused him. For someone who worships the Great Temptor, it doesn’t seem like Draven possesses the sense of intuition and planning you’d think he would.
The figure remains leaning against the wall, deathly silent.
Jerry Matthews: It appears that he will never come to understand my true motives. That our little holy war had nothing to do with his championship, but with the life he had chosen. And, that when I kidnapped his precious Alice, it was with the best of intentions. I know that you saw when I attempted to exorcise her of all the demons that ailed her, to free her from the tyrannical clutches of her unclean husband. Definitely not one of my ministry’s brighter moments, if I do say so myself.
Again, the figure doesn’t utter a word.
Jerry Matthews: Much has changed in the nine months since I last faced off with Kennedy. No longer am I viewed as an underdog, never again can I hope to hide in the shadows and strike as precisely as the hunting cobra. I became the greatest single reigning champion PCW has ever, or will ever, see. And, soon, master, with you by my side, the ultimate prize will be wrapped around my waist. No longer will PCW be locked in a perennial power struggle between Team Lethality and the Disciples of Syn. The people will have a champion with no political motives or agenda, that is other than their collective salvation from the eternal furnace. So it shall be, the good grace of the Lord God willing.
The preacher man makes the sign of the cross. The figure nods its head up and down slowly in approval. The figure replies to its willing servant, its voice once again sounding as if it stems from some sort of synthesizer.
Figure: Never before, my student, have you been as dangerous as you are now. One by one, all of our enemies fall by your hand with relative ease. But, do not allow yourself to become distracted. Otherwise, as someone chasing a leaf in the wind, our goal will elude us, and all of our work shall be for naught.
Jerry Matthews: As you instruct, master. Just as Socrates taught so many, I hold you in similar esteem. I will not succumb to the weaknesses and inconsistencies that are inherent in all of man. I will rise above, and claim what is rightfully mine. And, soon, Premium Championship Wrestling will be ours for the taking.
Figure: For the immediate future, you should only concern yourself with two goals, my son.
Jerry Matthews: And what would those be, teacher?
Figure: The one who was once thought to be dead must finally be put to rest. And those who would consider themselves amongst the “Elite” must experience a fall from grace.
Jerry Matthews: As you wish. I will inform the Deacon of the details.
Matthews rises to his feet and crosses himself once more. He then leaves his locker room, and the camera pans in on the “higher” power he appears to be serving so willingly as the scene fades to black.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The scene opens to the former site of Redemption Baptist Church. The burnt out frame still stands, its presence not nearly as commanding over the property as it had been prior to the arson committed by Ryan “The Reaper” Robinson and other members of Team Lethality. However, it would appear that one of the parcel’s more infamous sites remained undisturbed by this vandalism.
Gathered on the spot where the church’s pavilion once stood is a very small, tight-knit group of the church’s former parishioners. They are all dressed in black, and are gathered around a small crucifix sticking out of the ground. To know what lies underneath this holy symbol, however, you had to be there.
Standing behind a pulpit placed next to this anonymous marker is the Reverend Jerry Matthews. He is wearing his usual Sunday best, and appears ready to mark what is presumed to be a solemn occasion.
Jerry Matthews: Brothers and sisters, today, we are gathered here to honor an innocent life that had to be sacrificed due to the horribly long laundry list of the sins of one man, perhaps one of the greatest evils to ever wrestle in a PCW ring in Draven Logan Kennedy. For, my faithful flock, you see it was Draven’s penchant for brutal rapes, devil worshipping, and heinous attacks that led not only me but the rest of our congregation to act as judge, jury and executioner for this poor man.
Matthews motions towards the crucifix.
Jerry Matthews: Because you see, despite Draven’s conduct, he still had gained a following the likes of which every wrestler dreams about when they lace up their boots. Despite all that he stood for and all of its evil, he still proved capable of gathering an entourage of admirers. And, undoubtedly, rather than warn all of his fans of the fate that awaited them should they continue their sinful infatuation, he chose to let it be. Such it is when one seeks to corrupt the hearts and minds of otherwise good, God-fearing people.
The preacher man makes the sign of the cross.
Jerry Matthews: Nine months ago, this man was sacrificed to show what type of fate lied in Draven’s immediate future at Struggle for Power. He shrugged it off. Perhaps he thought that I was merely just another challenger, plagued by inexperience and my vision clouded by an ideology that disgusted him so. After all, this was a man who had made any number of title defenses, defeated any number of quality opponents. Let the fate that befell him serve as a warning, brothers and sisters. As an example of what happens when you let your pride get the better of you.
Matthews begins to shake his head back and forth whilst his small audience begin to cross themselves.
Jerry Matthews: Unfortunately, like some zombie from a George Romero film, Draven refused to stay down, to accept that he had been bested in every sense of the term. He proved unwilling to consider the dangerous position he had left his precious Alice in when Jeremiah and I drove her away in that ambulance. He refused to accept the fact that I had rendered him a mere shell of his former competitive self. That without his wife or his title, he had nothing left.
"He has persevered, my children. And now, he will get the chance he has undoubtedly been having wet dreams about for the better part of a year. The chance to get revenge on the man that nearly ended his prestigious career. His persistence has proven to be as irritating as a splinter, and has only served to prove his insolence. While this is a normal quality that would deserve any modicum of praise should they be displayed by one of the saved, that couldn’t be further from the truth in this case. Because, Draven is merely proving himself to be just like the devil he loves and knows so well. Neither he, nor Satan, will stop until all that God has created has been corrupted beyond the point of saving or killed. As a pastor, and as part of my divine mission, cannot and will not stand for this."
Matthews pounds his fist on the pulpit, his audience quickly raising to attention.
Jerry Matthews: Because, now, the time has come for me to finish the job I started at Struggle for Power nine months ago. To finally purify PCW of the devil that is Draven Logan Kennedy once and for all. And, while he will no doubt do whatever he can to stack the deck in his favor, the Lord God has already informed me of how pitifully these attempts will fail. After this edition of Saturday Night Rapture, Draven Logan Kennedy shall rest in peace, and all will be well. The Word of the Lord, Thanks Be to God.
Matthews crosses himself, and he is joined in doing so by the few parishioners present. They all bow their head collectively for a moment of prayer and the scene fades to black.