#27 Paul Menard

No matter where you go it’s cold. Cold on the west coast. Cold on the east coast. Cold in the north, cold in the midwest, and it’s even cold in the south. Including Florida. But unlike the North and Canada, the cold is only temporary in Florida but today it is cold…..


NASCAR Billy after his big win over Ray Harlan hopped in the hauler and headed south ahead of the storm and arrived in central Florida to get some track time in. It’s time to shake down his big block Modified and chase some bugs out of it for the big races that are coming up in a week or so. At the track the back of the hauler is open and Billy’s race car is parked in front of the hauler, with dirt blasted behind the rear wheels when he slides it through the turns on the front stretch before hammering down the front stretch. Even though the sun is out it is cold and as the sun is setting it’s dipping into the 40’s and that has forced Billy to grab his jacket. His Dale JR Mountain Dew team jacket. Billy is walking out of his hauler with his hands in his pockets.


"I know what ya might be thinkin’. Billy! You have a shot at da UWL TV title, a match you have wanted ever since Japan and der you are! At da race track wastin’ your time on dat blasted race car of yours! You should be workin’ out! Runnin in da cold! Pumpin’ iron, studin’ youtube on old Josh Eagles matches! Billy! Why you doin’ dis? Now before you run to Vegas and put your money down on Josh let me asked you dis.”


“Have you ever held it open sliding through turn four and point the front of this bad boy towards the finish line and hope dis thing hooks up before you slap da wall and rocket on down towards da checker flag? What was dat? No? You have no idea how dat feels? What it takes to get dat done? Well let me tell you dis. 50 laps out der on dat track is a work out all on it’s own. Hell it’s more of a workout den runnin’ in the bitter cold. Even if the car is set up right and turns easy, it still takes everything I got crankin’ on dat wheel to get it to slide, to get it to turn. My feet are on and off da gas, on and off da brakes so fast you’d swear I was tap dancing! Ima looking down da track, lookin’ to the side of me, seein’ where da other guy is so I don’t run over da top of him. Ima thinkin’ da whole time, every second of every lap on how to set up da guy in front of me so I can pass him. It’s a game of chess inside dat cockpit and when it’s all over with, if you ain’t out of breath…..den you just ain’t doing something right. To run fast. To run out front. You’ve got to work at it. You’ve got to dig down and earn every position you got. None of it just handed to you. Da only way you get out front is to take it and sittin’ back, takin’ it easy. Pissin’ and moanin’ about it ain’t gunna cut it. Now what does dis have to do with my match dis week? I guess nothing and yet it has everything to do with my match this week.”

Billy rubs his hands together.


"You know I don’t know how everyone in da UWL really feels about me. I try to be a nice guy. A team player. Ima sure some of ya just don’t take me serious and Ima sure der are some “Oh Billy” from time to time and Ima sure der are some of you who just think Ima not serious at all. Ima just here fer a laugh, a joke. But just like dat car right der, I am serious. I take what I do in da ring as serious as….say Caleb Hart does. As Josh Eagles would. Ima not here for shits and giggles. Ima here to be da best I can be and der is no reason why I can’t be da best in the UWL. Now, Ima not saying dat I am da best of the best right now. I know I’m not. I have to put in some work, learn and grow some more but someday. Someday you will see me as da Triple Crown Champion and dat isn’t just some pipe dream. I’m gunna work towards dat. Dat is my ultimate goal in wrassling.”


“Dis week I get another shot at da UWL TV title and I’ll be honest here. I didn’t think dis shot was gunna happen so soon. Hell I thought Josh Eagles was gunna defend it against someone else so imagine my surprise when I check my texts and saw dat I was getting a shot at da title and Josh can say whatever he wants on why he’s grantin’ me dis shot dis week. But da way I see it and Ima sure Josh will dispute dis, but I did earn dis shot dis week. I earned it when I pinned Ray Harlan fer da one, two three. I know der where some of ya who doubted me last week. I know der where some of ya who wrote me off and said I had no shot in winnin’ dat match but as we saw.”


Billy points at himself.


"Da little engine dat could, did win after all. And dis week, da same little engine will chug along and who knows. Der just might be a upset dis week. I dunna if you know dis Josh but unlike you, I have just over a year of experience in dis sport now. Last year was my rookie year and I dunno about you but I think I had a really good year. I won them tag belts twice, with three different partners. I won the tag team Coronation cup and at one point I was undefeated in tag team matches. Yeah I excelled in tag team action. But dat didn’t happen by mistake or because no one was watching. I had Emma and Archer trying to stop me. I had da Birds of Prey trying to stop me. I had International Incident trying to stop me. Hell at one point on our way to picking up da Coronation Cup Joe and I had to beat Robb Daniels and Arch Stanton….yeah I know Josh you probably view dem as two nobodies so who cares. Point is I can and have beaten legends in dat ring. Just because I don’t have a long list of career highlights in my bio doesn’t mean dat dis week at Only the Strong Survive it’s a foregone conclusion dat you will win dis match simply because your name is Josh Eagles.”


Billy crosses his arms and leans up against the side of the hauler.


"I have been to da UWL offices and walked down the hallway and I saw these big pictures of a bunch of guys who used to be in the UWL at one time or another. I don’t remember many of the names but I think you mentioned a couple of them. All I know was dat all of em, are no longer in da UWL. Their time has come and gone and now all they are just some blown up picture on a wall in a hallway leading down to Jay’s office. Were dey great? I guess they were. I didn’t see none of them in action. I mean I see the stats, read what titles they won and what not and I don’t want to take anything away from them but being from Hickory North Carolina, I am as you could guess a big Ric Flair fan. Der is no one better than Ric Flair. When Bret Hart said da best der was, da best der is and da best der ever will I just assume he was talkin’ about Ric Flair. I mean come on, no Canadian can ever be the greatest of all time. You guys already used dat card up with Wayne Gretzky. Dat’s it. Dat’s all you get, one claim to fame.”


Billy reaches in his back pocket for his can of chew.


"Gettin’ back to Ric Flair. I can turn on da TV on Monday night and hear them still talkin’ about Ric Flair. Hell a couple times a years he even shows up on TV and everyone goes crazy, so happy to see him. They WHOOOOO!!!!! and WHOOOOOOOO!!!! and cheer and cheer. He hasn’t had a match in a while now and yet, Da Stylin’! Profillin’! Limousine ridin! Jet Flyin! Kiss Stealin! Wheel n dealin son of a gun! Is still relevant in da sport today. I can’t tell ya da last time Robbie Venom, Davies, and da other guys not named Justin Brooks walked out on to da ramp and made their way down to da ring to say Hi. No one really cares Josh dat you had these awesome matches against those awesome guys some several years ago. All of dat stuff, means nothing today as you get set to defend dat TV title against me at Only da Strong Survive. Yeah you have history in da UWL. You are a legend in da UWL. Good fer you. You should be proud but know dis. In any sport you look at, at any time in the history of dat sport. You will see something repeat itself over and over again. Der was an all time great. Dey got old and retired, and as soon as dey left. Someone else took their place. Another all time great and before you know it. Dat guy left. And someone took his place. From Petty to Earnhardt to Gordon to Johnson. From Russell to Dr. J, to Bird to Jordan to Kobe to Lebron. You used to be da man in da UWL. Now clearly it’s Caleb Hart and you are trying so hard to recapture dat, to go out on top. Trying so hard to remind everyone who you are, where you came from and what you did dat you have lowered yourself to underhanded tactics. To wearin’a questionable elbow pad. To turnin’ your back on da fans.”


Billy taps the top of the can with his thumb and snaps open the can and takes a pinch of chew.


"I mean I get makin’ your last year count. Goin’ out on top, a winner. If havin’ a picture of yourself in dat hallway really means dat much to ya dat you will cheat to get it…..”


Billy stuffs his bottom lip with chew and snaps the lid back on his can.


"But sooner rather dan later. You will get replaced. Someone will step up and take over being da next great thing. The next great one will take over.”


Billy steps out of his hauler and spits.


"It might be early to call it but dat next great one. You're lookin’ at him. Da guy to take Eagles spot. Da guy to take Eagles title. Yup.”


Billy again spits.


"You're lookin’ at him.”


Billy nods and walks past the camera as the scene fades out…...