OOC: Good luck Brandon!
Hell in a Hospital – a match of Braun Strowman's creation – had gone as well as Braun could have hoped. He had beaten Tommaso Ciampa, had a lot of fun in the process, and the match itself had received mostly positive feedback. Strowman was hoping to start 2019 by being pushed into the World Title picture, especially now the "Road to Wrestlemania" had begun, so he had been surprised to find himself booked against the new Breakout Champion, Hardcore Holly, on the New Year's Eve edition of Warfare. What made it even more surprising was that Holly insisted on putting his title on the line, to prove he was a "real champion". Although Strowman had little interest in the Breakout Championship, he was never one to back down from a challenge... so he decided he would use the match as an opportunity to teach Hardcore Holly a lesson, and prove to Holly what he was capable of.
The scene opened in Forest Park Hospital, where Hell in a Hospital had taken place. A cameraman followed Strowman as he walked around the hospital, reminding everyone of the carnage that had occurred at Christmas Eve of Destruction. Strowman stopped by the wall that he had speared Ciampa through, turned to face the camera, and began to speak.
Braun Strowman: Hardcore Holly... you talk about how you don’t wait in line, and take the things you want instead. You claim that's what allowed you to become the Breakout Champion. But how much do you really want that title, given that you're offering to give it up just days after winning it? You claim you're a real champion, but I just think you're really stupid. Because I didn't want your title. Hell, I didn’t even want to fight you. But I know you've been wanting to fight me for a long time, so I decided to give you what you wanted. Now, if I beat you, your reign as Breakout Champion will be over after just one week. And mark my words, I will beat you, Bob. Didn’t you see what I did to Tommaso Ciampa? You're trying to prove how tough you are, but all you're proving is that you're an idiot.
Strowman paused for a moment, then continued speaking.
Braun Strowman: You see the thing about being tough, Holly, is that if you really were as tough as you say you are, then you wouldn’t feel the need to prove yourself. The fact that you spend all your time picking fights and telling everyone that you’re a badass shows that you’re actually just an insecure man desperately trying to stay relevant. And I get it…really, I do. You’ve been wrestling for over 30 years. When you made your in ring debut, I was four years old. You got a huge opportunity when EBWF offered you a contract, the sort of opportunity you thought you’d never get again when Stamford wished you “the best in your future endeavours” ten years ago. Since then, you’ve travelled around the world, taking bookings anywhere that will have you, because you’re not ready to hang your boots up yet. So when EBWF offered you a contract, you felt excited, but then that excitement was quickly replaced by fear. Fear that the novelty of having a guy from the Attitude Era would quickly wear off, and after a few weeks you’d be “future endeavoured” again. That fear turned to anger, and for the last few months you’ve taken that anger out on every single person who has crossed your path. You’ve pissed off everybody in the locker room because you decided it was better to be disliked than not cared about. So yeah Holly, I understand why you act the way you do. I just wish you’d realise that if you were actually able to back up half of the trash you talk on Twitter when you step into the ring, people might actually respect you instead of seeing you as a joke.
Strowman walked down the hospital hallway, stopping at the set of stairs he had thrown Tommaso Ciampa down. He looked back at the camera, and continued speaking.
Braun Strowman: The problem with talking as much as you do, Holly, is that you’re like a comedian who has run out of material. You have nothing new to say, so every time you open your mouth you’re telling us something we’ve already heard…
Strowman changed his voice, trying to impersonate Hardcore Holly.
Braun Strowman (impersonating Hardcore Holly): “You’re a fat, stupid loser and you suck! You don’t belong here, I do, and I take what I want, when I want it. I don’t like wearing a shirt, and I take a steel chair with me everywhere I go because I need a weapon to feel safe in a fight. If you piss me off, I’m going to hit you with my chair because I don’t care whether I win or lose, I just want to fight!”
Strowman chuckled, then returned to his normal voice.
Braun Strowman: You say you don’t care about losing matches, but I think you’re just making excuses because you lose so many of them. Only two people have ever pinned me in EBWF, Holly. The first was Aiden English, the former Breakout Champion, and the guy you should be thanking... because if he hadn’t vacated that title, you never would have won it in the first place! And even he was only able to beat me because he had a helping hand… from the only other guy who has managed to pin me, Tommaso Ciampa. But he had to choke me out with a steel chain to do it. And you saw what I did to him…
Strowman pointed to the stairs behind him to illustrate his point.
Braun Strowman: Besides, that was in a Street Fight where anything goes. The difference between you and Ciampa, Holly, is that Tommaso Ciampa doesn’t feel the need to try and make every match he’s booked in a hardcore match, because he’s not afraid to fight with his fists. And that’s why I actually respect Ciampa. We’ve taken each other to hell and back, and he’s still standing. If you’d been in this hospital with me last week, Holly, you’d be buried six feet under somewhere, and I’d have been locked up and charged with manslaughter.
Strowman turned around and punched the nearest wall, knocking a hole in the wall in the process. He then turned back to the camera and held up his fists.
Braun Strowman: These are the only weapons I need, Holly - these hands. Because every superstar who has crossed my path, when they’ve got these hands, they have felt pain. I never described myself as the “Monster Among Men”, that’s how other people described me after watching me in action, because they didn’t see me as a man… they saw me as a monster. But despite that, despite what I did to Ciampa at Christmas Eve of Destruction, you still wanted to put your title on the line and you had the nerve to tell the guy who signs your paychecks that you “didn’t give a damn” whether the match was sanctioned or not. Well you must have a death wish, Bob, because when you step into the ring with me, I won’t give a damn what happens to you, and after the way your attitude has been I bet Wes Ikeda won’t give a damn what happens to you either. Your determination to prove that you’re a “real champion” will put your name in the record books, but for the wrong reasons. Because you’ll forever be known as the guy who had the shortest Breakout Title reign in history. The guy who put his title on the line when he didn’t need to, against a guy who didn’t even want a title shot. The guy whose mouth wrote too many checks that his body couldn’t cash, and paid the price as a result. So although I have loftier aspirations than the Breakout Title - and I have my eyes firmly on the EBWF World Title - I will be proud to be the guy who ends your reign as the Breakout Champion. And I will wear that championship as a badge of honour, because I will be known as the guy who taught you a lesson. Who knows, maybe I’ll even be the guy who finally shut you up for good.
Strowman looked right into the camera, grinned maniacally, then uttered seven more words.
Braun Strowman: How do you like me now, Holly?
Strowman laughed to himself, stepped back, raised his arms in the air and let out a roar as the scene faded.
