Re-introducing the One Man Revolution

[Benjamin]

It was early afternoon in Minneapolis at the Target Center, the venue for tonight’s episode of EBWF Warfare. Most of the staff had trickled into the building by then, some of the talent who were either not working or had already been briefed on the night’s events were not there but for the most part all hands were on deck early this Monday. Alex Shelley was wearing a Detroit Tiger’s hoody probably making him the most hated man in Minneapolis at the moment. It wasn’t cold up north like it had been a month or so prior, Shelley just didn’t want to be seen. He had his hood up, his headphones blazing, and his eyes were fixated on the ground when…

Matt Striker: Alex? Alex Shelley?

Alex Shelley: Oh no…

Matt Striker: Mr. Shelley, it’s my pleasure.

Alex Shelley: Do I know you?

Matt Striker: I’m Matt Striker.

Alex Shelley: Yes, I have the internet and a television set. I know who you are, but do I know you? Like, do I “I’m clearly not interested in conversation but I’m going to blurt out your name anyway” know you?

Matt Striker: I’m sorry Mr. Shelley, I was told to take you to Corey Graves right away when you arrive.

Alex Shelley: Why?

Matt Striker: Nobody told you? We went over this backstage at Warfare last week.

Alex Shelley: I kind of wasn’t at Warfare last week...or practically any week in the past almost 10 years.

Matt Striker: Right, right. We are going to do a sit down interview.

Alex Shelley: Sit down interview?

Matt Striker: You know, so you can like, tell your story.

Alex Shelley: My story? I have a story? Do tell, I love hearing things about me.

Matt Striker: Your story about how you quickly rose to the top of the EBWF and became one of the longest reigning EBWF champions in history only to go into exile.

Alex Shelley: I was in exile? You keep telling me all kinds of interesting things about myself. Do go on.

Matt Striker: Please Mr. Shelley, I never get to do anything anymore. My one job tonight is to make sure you get to Corey Graves.

Alex Shelley: Please, I don’t have to hear your sob story. You can call me Alex.

Matt Striker: Awesome! Follow me, Alex, buddy ol’ pal!

Alex Shelley: Don’t push it.

Alex brushed his hair out of his eyes with his hands. His black locks have grown to shoulder length and he had also grown out his beard. He scarcely resembled the man that set the EBWF on fire a decade ago. He then proceeded to follow Matt Striker down the hall and into a dressing room that had been decked out for television. The walls were draped in a nice blue background and a couple of comfortable chairs were set up. Corey Graves was chit chatting with the camera crew that was also present when Shelley and Striker entered the room. Graves immediately got up and extended his hand to Alex. Alex shook his hand with a smile.

Corey Graves: Alex Shelley, I’m a big fan of your work.

Alex Shelley: As I am of yours. You’re not like all those fucking squares in other companies.

Corey Graves: I do what I can. Have you been briefed on what we’re doing?

Alex Shelley: Not really.

Corey Graves: Alright, so the EBWF has a lot of fans or all ages and some of the younger kids may not have much of a clue of who you are so we are going to try to re-tell the story of your last run to either refresh or familiarize the fans with you and your significance to the company.

Alex Shelley: Sounds like all kinds of good times. Is Rami around? I haven’t seen that guy in forever.

Corey Graves: Yeah you’ll have plenty of time to go over all the spots and whatnot. We just want to get this done quickly so we can air it to the live crowd before Warfare.

Alex Shelley: What about Wes? Is he here?

Corey Graves: I would imagine so. I don’t know these things. We’re kind of on a time crunch, man. I don’t think we have to go over anything, just be honest. We’ll only use what we have to on tv.

Alex Shelley: Damn, why all the anal retentiveness?

Corey Graves: I’m sorry man, the vibe here has been a little different lately. It’s hard to explain.

Alex Shelley: Alright fine let’s do this already.

Alex positions himself diagonally across from Corey facing the camera and then Graves gives the camera crew the cue to start rolling.

Corey Graves: Corey Graves here with an exclusive interview with the name who will take on Sami Zayn tonight in the King of the Ring tournament. You may recognize this man as one of the youngest and longest reigning champions in EBWF history, Alex Shelley! Alex Shelley welcome back to the EBWF.

Alex Shelley: Thank you for having me, Corey.

Corey Graves: So let’s get right into it, what brings you back to the EBWF?

Alex Shelley: They had some open spots in the King of the Ring tournament and I got a phone call.

Corey Graves: And…?

Alex Shelley: I wish I had a better answer for you.

Corey Graves: Just a bit ago you said you admired the fact that I’m not a, umm…”effing square”. We’re not here for a cookie-cutter NFL style interview. Clearly there is a reason why you decided to come back to a company that meant so much to you at one point in your life but hasn’t seen you in many years.

Alex Shelley: We’re going there are we? Alright I’ll play. I just took a good, hard look at myself in the mirror. I knew me returning to the EBWF was inevitable, it has been inevitable ever since I left. Truth be told, other companies wouldn’t even offer me a long term contract because they knew I would turn it down. The EBWF is my home. It has been since I came, hopefully it always will be. I kept saying that inevitably the time would come but my 33rd birthday is coming up. I’m not a young man anymore. Things don’t last forever, my career sure won’t. It was time.

Corey Graves: There we go. Back in 2006 EBWF legend Triple H called you “The One Man Revolution”. What was this “revolution” and what did that mean to you?

Alex Shelley: Obviously it meant a great deal to me. I have always admired Triple H and even though we were on opposite sides of a gang warfare of sorts at the time I was flattered and humbled by that remark. The revolution I spoke of all those years ago was to continue what I started in Orlando but bring it to a much bigger stage. The X-Division was simultaneously an innovative and restrictive concept. The style of wrestling was captivating and always left the fans wanting more but it also relegated wrestlers like myself to the undercard. The revolution I spoke of was to break through the glass ceiling of what was considered a “main event wrestler”. I was fortunately able to do that when I defeated Jeff Hardy for the EBWF world heavyweight championship years ago.

Corey Graves: Jeff Hardy of course was a proud member of the New World Order. Your rivalry with the nWo is what helped put you on the map. What was it about them that put you and them at odds?

Alex Shelley: The nWo, to me, represented a bunch of old guys wanting to rehash their glory years and while Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Hulk Hogan, Taz, Vampiro, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, etc. still had what it took to compete at a high level at the time they were more or less holding back younger guys like Syxx and Jeff Hardy.

Corey Graves: It all seemed to work out well enough for Jeff Hardy, he was the EBWF...errr...nWo world heavyweight champion.

Alex Shelley: Haha, yeah, but look at poor Syxx. He wasted the prime of his career as a lackey and now he’s struggling to keep the Intercontinental championship.

Corey Graves: What have you been doing in your time away from the company?

Alex Shelley: Am I allowed to say that? I’ve spent a lot of time in Border City, you know, that honorable promotion too. Mostly I’ve been in Japan. Holy jet-lag. I wish I could timesplit that airplane ride in half.

Corey Graves: So what lead you to leave the EBWF?

Alex Shelley: A series of bad choices. You have to remember I was still a young kid. There were always shit talkers on the internet saying there was an asterisks next to my title reign because of who I am friends with. I shouldn’t have let it get to me, but I did. I thought I was going to be the man forever, and when I was told the company was going to go in a different direction I shouldn’t have let it get to me, but I did. There was definitely some personal stuff involved. I was an idiot. It’s all the internet, google it. I don’t want to talk about it. I’m just glad I’m not a dumb kid anymore.

Corey Graves: What are your thoughts on your opponent tonight, Sami Zayn?

Alex Shelley: Sami Zayn es numero uno! Si muy good! Ole! I’ve known Sami for a long time. He wasn’t Sami back then, he had a little more of a generic name. Haha, I wonder how often he hears that one. I really think Sami is one of the few guys doing it right. He doesn’t really need to talk shit, he just goes out there and out wrestlers people. I’m not really like that. I need to get to talk a little smack, punch you in the gut, and get your sister’s phone number before I beat you but I definitely respect a guy like Sami Zayn that is all about what happens between the ropes. He ought to be a really good test for me, we’ll see if I still got it. Oh who am I kidding? We all know who I am, we all know what I’ve done. Sami Zayn may be good enough to be a champion in this era, but this era thus far has not included the best professional wrestler walking the face of the earth today Alex Shelley. He better not relax and think he is going to roll right through me because I have been away for so long. I have not been sitting on my couch. Sami’s career has taken him all around the world so he knows all about the grind that I’ve been on. I grinded myself half to death, came here, won a world title amongst many other achievements and accolades, then went right back to that same old grind. He is not facing some n00b nor is he facing someone who is rusty. I have been in the land of the rising sun sharpening my sword. I’m like a samurai and I don’t just slice bread, twice. Get in my way and I’ll slice your god-forsaken head off. I almost said something else but I heard there used to be rules against that kind of stuff. Anyway, Sami Zayn and I have a lot in common. We were both looked at as indie guys that may have overextended their reach a little bit. We proved the doubters wrong and I am going to prove anyone who doubts me wrong tonight when I lay Sami Zayn’s chance to become king to rest. King Shelley, I like the sound of that. I would be a good king. I would make the weekend three days. Forget taco Tuesday, try taco every day! I would build a massive wall around Donald Trump and I would get Taco Bell to pay for it! I really like tacos. Wait, what was I talking about again? Oh right, Sami Zayn, uhhh yeah next question.

Corey Graves: Is there anyone else on the EBWF roster you would like to face?

Alex Shelley: That one is easy. My arch nemesis, Syxx. Truth be told Sean, and I know he hates when you call him Sean on air, but Sean has been a mentor to me for a really long time. Ever since we won the Chris Candido cup together in Orlando in 2005 we have always stayed in contact. He really pushed me to go to the EBWF. I was like, “That’s what they expect me to do!” But really, he was right. We didn’t always get along but the fact of the matter is Syxx has made me a better wrestler and a better man and I would really like to mix it up with him one more time if he comes back.

Corey Graves: If he comes back? You do know that he is an active competitor and is scheduled to face the winner of your match with Sami Zayn right?

Alex Shelley: We’re in Minneapolis, he lives here. Do you see him? Has anyone seen him in the past month or so? Sean has gone through a lot but never like he’s going through right now.

Corey Graves: What are you talking about?

Alex Shelley: Can we delete that? I said too much.

Corey Graves: We’ll delete it later. Seriously though, what are you talking about? Off the record.

Alex Shelley: You know what I’m talking about.

Corey Graves: No really, I don’t. I know the Joanie business has him a little shaken but certainly he’s been through worse. It’s not like she was his wife.

One of the camera men started waving his arm at Corey as if to get his attention, Corey held one finger up to silence him.

Alex Shelley: Dude, you seriously can’t air this.

Corey Graves: I won’t, I promise.

Alex Shelley: Sean loved Joanie. He wouldn’t tell anyone, but if you know him...you know. The problem is so few people truly know him these days. Do you really think he would have stuck around EBWF for so long if it weren’t for her? Hunter and her getting married destroyed him, he just couldn’t say anything because it would be both career and social suicide. Sean lost the woman he truly loved, but his tragedy is the fact that nobody really knows that it is HIS tragedy. He doesn’t get the outpouring of sympathy that Hunter gets and why should he? He was just the asshole ex, right? Do you really think Sean Waltman has any interest in remaining in the EBWF when there is now no chance that he will ever talk to her again? He’ll bow out as soon as his contract is up if they don’t release him for job performance before then.

Corey Graves: Whoa...I didn’t know…

Meanwhile, the camera man was still practically jumping up and down trying to get Corey Graves’ attention, Corey still paid him no mind.

Alex Shelley: Just cut me off at “mix it up one more time” and then lets cut us back in right here.

Corey Graves: Got it *Corey paused briefly* Well your wish may come true as Syxx is scheduled to meet the winner of your contest with Sami Zayn.

Alex Shelley: I am really looking forward to the match tonight. Sami Zayn is a former champion. What better way to prove I still got it than to take out a former champ? I want everyone in the crowd tonight in Minneapolis and everyone watching at home to know that although I am not a immature little kid anymore, I am still every bit the competitor I was back when I was your world champion. Back then they called me the new face of the EBWF, well now I am a slightly older face but time has been good to me and I’m still pretty damn handsome. Sami Zayn on the other hand? He may want to look into wearing a mask.

Corey Graves: What’s that thing you used to say? You know, your name, and that thing you did to mothers?

Alex Shelley: Oh I can’t say that anymore. *Alex laughed* This is the internet age. Parents would google me and burn my house down if I ever said Alex motherfucking Shelley again.

Corey Graves: You just said it.

Alex Shelley: Indeed.

Corey Graves: You want me to edit that out too?

Alex Shelley: I’ll leave that one in your hands.

Corey Graves: So here is the question that is undoubtedly on everyone’s minds: Is this a one-off for you or is Alex Shelley once again a member of the EBWF roster?

Alex Shelley: That’s a very good question. Me winning this tournament would kind of tie my hands on that one wouldn’t it?

Corey Graves: It certainly would. Thank you very much for your time, Alex Shelley. This is Corey Graves, thank you all very much for watching. ...Aaaaaand cut. *Corey turned to the camera man who had been trying to get his attention for the past 10 minutes* Dude what is your problem?

Camera Man: I’m sorry for trying to interrupt, but I wanted to tell you that our camera was feeding live to the titantron.

Corey Graves: What do you mean feeding live? It’s 2 PM.

Alex Shelley: Live!? You’re kidding…

Camera Man: We run live pre-tapings through the tron all the time to help with soundcheck. I thought you knew that.

Alex Shelley: What!? Why!?

Corey Graves: Don’t worry about it. There won’t be anyone in the arena area right now, just the ring crew if anyone. All the talent that is working is probably being briefed on their matches right now.

Alex Shelley: That’s a relief. I was really worried for a second there.

Corey Graves: No need to worry. We’ll get this one chopped up and ready to air right away.

Alex Shelley: Sounds good. So where is the locker room area? It’s been awhile.

Corey Graves: Just down the hall and to the right.

Just then there was a knock at the door, Corey and Alex both rose to their feet.

Camera Man: That’s probably Jessica.

Alex Shelley: I’ll get it, I’m leaving anyway.

Alex got up and opened the door, it wasn’t Jessica. It was a man. Six feet tall. Dressed in black. Black hair bound by an equally black bandana.

Syxx: Shelley, what. THE FUCK. was THAT!?

The scene fades.

[Ashlee]

This makes me so happy.

[Jayme]

I really enjoyed this whole thing! Hope to see more from Alex Shelley. I especially enjoyed the reference to time splitting the flight from Japan and the thing about slicing bread twice. :D

[Benjamin]

Thank you peoples. :)

There were a few things only certain people will pick up on, lol.