Shattered Dreams

[Ben M]

OOC: I decided to try something different with this one. As always, feedback is appreciated. Good luck Jon!


It was Friday afternoon and several hundred people had gathered in Hickory City Hall, North Carolina. The people of Hickory had gathered because they had been told there would be a guest speaker, but despite the fact that it was 2:55pm, and the speaker was expected at 3pm, they still didn't know who the speaker was. In a way, the sense of mystery had created more of a buzz amongst those in attendance; their curiosity had got the better of them, and the majority of people were there because they would rather risk being disappointed when they found out who the guest speaker was than chance missing out if a big name was taking the time to visit their humble city.

As the clock hit 2:58pm, a tall man with short dark hair entered the room. He was wearing a black suit and carried himself with a sense of importance, yet hardly anyone in attendance knew who he was. This is what Wade Barrett had been hoping for, and he couldn't help but smile to himself as he looked around to see the puzzled faces in the room. Barrett stood at the front, and addressed the people of Hickory by hitting his gavel on the podium, and asking...

Wade Barrett: Can I have some decorum please?!

Within seconds, the room fell silent.

Wade Barrett: Thank you. For those of you who don't know, my name is Wade Barrett. I am an EBWF Superstar, and I am here today to talk to you about one of my colleagues. Someone who was raised right here in Hickory. Tell me, by a show of hands, who here has heard of Phil Shatter? Also known as Gunner, Chadwick Lail or "that security guy"?

More than half the people in the room raised their hand. Barrett nodded in acknowledgement.

Wade Barrett: Excellent. And those of you who know him, tell me... is he someone you admire?

There was a general murmur of approval throughout the room. Barrett heard a woman in the front row say to herself, "he fought in the Iraq" war, and a man a few rows behind shout out "the guy's a hero".

Wade Barrett: Well I'm afraid I've got some bad news... because those of you who do admire him are going to be bitterly disappointed on Monday night. You see, while Phil Shatter did indeed fight for his country in the Iraq war, that was almost ten years ago. Since leaving the Marines, he has been trying to make it as a professional wrestler, and a few weeks ago his career took a step forwards as he signed for the EBWF, just a short while after yours truly agreed a deal with the same company. Phil made his debut last week, and the self-proclaimed Universal Soldier threatened to "murder" his first EBWF opponent, Evan Bourne. For his troubles, Phil's dreams of a debut victory were... Shattered... when he was beaten by Bourne, a man who is half his size and has never fought anywhere other than a wrestling ring. This week, Shatter has to go up against me. If you will, people of Hickory, ponder this. Evan Bourne is 5'8" and weighs 165 pounds. He has never been a fighter, nor a soldier. I am 6'7", I was 246 pounds and before training to be a wrestler, I was a champion bare-knuckle boxer. If Phil Shatter can't beat Evan Bourne, what chance does he have of besting me? I forgot to mention... the week before Shatter made his debut, I wrestled Evan Bourne and beat him with ease. It doesn't take a genius to work out that if I beat Evan Bourne, and Evan Bourne beat Phil Shatter, I should beat Shatter without breaking a sweat. It's a simple enough concept, one I'm sure that even the people of Hickory can get their heads around.

There was obvious tension in the room now and the people in attendance began to jeer and boo. Barrett laughed, then hit his gavel against the podium once more.

Wade Barrett: Can I have some decorum please?! I assure you, I'm not here to taunt you or get into any arguments. I'm simply presenting you with the facts... if you can't accept them, that's bad news for you. But, while I am here, I do have a message for Phil Shatter, who I'm sure will be eager to find out what I had to say when word gets to him that I went to the trouble of arranging to come and see all of you today. Shatter, if you haven't already realised, it's a big jump from TNA to the EBWF. With the exception of AJ Styles and the Beautiful People, not many TNA Superstars have been able to make the cut when they've tried their luck in the EBWF. Almost everyone who has made that journey has had to turn back and admit failure. If you think you'll be any different, then I'm afraid I've got some bad news. After I beat you at Warfare, I'll have notched up two straight victories, while you'll be on a run of two straight defeats. And as I'm sure you're aware, this is WrestleMania season... the last thing you want is to be on a losing streak in the build-up to the biggest pay-per-view of the year. You see Phil, all it will take is a few more losses, and you'll be the EBWF's next Zack Ryder. You'll remain on the roster, but you'll be an afterthought. You'll barely appear on TV, and you'll be lucky to get booked for house shows. And after a while, if they haven't sacked you, you'll realise it's only because they've forgotten that they're still paying you. You'll get so frustrated that you won't just ask to be released, you'll beg to be let go. If I were you, Phil, I'd keep a close eye on TNA... because if you stay in EBWF too long, by the time you're ready to admit that you've failed to make an impact here, there might not be an Impact Zone for you to go back to.

For those in attendance who followed wrestling, Barrett's meaning was clear enough. The rest of the crowd was visibly confused. Barrett looked at his watch, and let out a small sigh.

Wade Barrett: It looks like I'm almost out of time. Before I go, are there any questions?

It seemed as though no one wanted to ask Barrett anything as they wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible. However, a woman in the front row - the same woman who had noted that Phil Shatter fought in the Iraq war - raised her hand. Barrett nodded to her, and she asked her question.

Woman: What did you say your name was?

Wade Barrett: I'm Bad News Barrett, sweetheart. And don't you forget it.

Barrett stepped down from the podium and made his exit. The woman in the front row repeated "Bad News Barrett" to herself as the scene faded.