RP #83

A hour after the lights have gone down, a hour after the camera have been packed up and a hour after the fans left the Lahaina civic center Double J Joe Jones was finally allowed inside the place since it was no longer UWL’s place. The chairs are being stacked up on the racks and the stage is slowly being torn down. Time to pack everything up and get it ready to move to it to the next venue Saturday night. As tear down begins Joe walks down to the ring making his way down through the stands. Over his shoulder is the Unoffical offical UWL tag team title and in his other hand. A slurpee.


It was a quick walk for him, I mean no one was there to stop him on his way towards the ring. He walks up to the ring and slides the belt on the ring apron and sets his slurpee down next to it. Where Barry and Fred sat for the night at ring side is a member of the UWL ring crew and is packing up everything at the table. The monitors, the cables, headsets, mics, everything. Joe places a hand on his shoulder and says something to him quick. The crew member nods and reaches in and hands Joe a mic. Joe holds the mic and switches it on and taps on the mic a couple of time and the PA system hasn’t been killed yet. Joe pats the guy on the shoulder and thanks him.


”Hey guys! Hold up a second…” Joe says as he climbs into the ring in his flip flops. ”LIsten I know you all are busy getting all of this torn down and packed up, but how about you guys take a break? I’ve got something I have to say while that boom camera is still up and rolling. Don’t worry about it, Jay is soooo pissed at me already this will be just one more thing he can yell at me for. Just tell em if he asks that I kicked you guys out. Give me like, a half an hour. Cool?”


Joe gives them a thumbs up and how can you say no to that. A couple of guys look at one another like, is this guy for real? Other, well you don’t need to tell them twice to take break. They drop everything and head on out for break. Soon everyone follows suit.


”Thanks.” Joe says as the crew starts to make their way on out of the arena. Joe walks over to his belt and his slurpee. He picks them up, drapes the old ESW tag team title belt over the top rope and takes a sip of his slurpee as he reaches in his pocket for his phone. After a couple of sips from his slurpee he sets it down on the turnbuckle and slowly walks out of the corner as he checks his phone.


”A lot of things were said tonight. I sure that if you watched the show then you know pretty much how everyone feels about what we did last week.” Joe is near the center of the ring and turns and faces the lone camera in the place. He is still checking his phone, scrolling down with with his thumb.


”As Caleb put it in the UWL only meeting. A war is brewing! A WAR is going to happen and the UWL is smack dab in the middle of it! The UWL is at WAR!”

Joe still checking his phone smirks. He looks up from his phone and nods.


”I knew that was going to happen. I knew it. I should have taken that bet from Angie because he would owe me fifty bucks.” Joe waves his phone in the air quick and then slides it in his pocket.


”Before I get into that, what was on my phone let me start with this. As much as you would love to see a war. As much as you guys are all gearing up for this epic, earth shattering, ground pounding, roster splitting war of wars, a war that could blow up the UWL as we know it today, I will be the first on Team Empire to stand here in front of everyone…” Joe looks around the empty arena. ”You know if I was allowed in the building when people were in it but if they were I would stand here, clear my throat and say this.”


Joe clears his throat just as he said he would.


”The UWL. It’s not going anywhere. It will be here for who know how long, hitting the road going from town to town, city to city, country to country bringing the show to you live or at home on Fox Sports One. Angelo. Rayne. Peirce. Blacklotis. We’re not the NWO. We’re not here to force out the UWL. We’re not here to fan the flames and blow life into the ESW and give it a rebirth and watch it spread it wings once again! I know there is a small section of you out there that would love nothing more than to see us on Monday night for Ultimate Mayhem once again! I know there are some of you who want to see Eddie in this ring one more time. I know you would all love to see JT Blackout one more time! Hell I would love nothing more than to see five time ESW World champion Slipstream walk down that aisle and kick some ass again. And I damn sure know that the ladies in the stands would love nothing more than to see the heartthrob of the ESW, Kid Krazy…..12 time champion Kid Krazy flipping and flying all over this ring one more time! God knows Angelo Valour would love to get a honest to god real shot at the old ESW Tag Team Titles so he can join Slipstream, Prozac and Tommy Purr as a ESW Elite member! Some of you might not care about that or even know what it means to be a ESW Elite member but in the 9 year run of the ESW, only 3 guys in the history of the ESW have been able to win every stinking title the ESW has to offer along with the Soul Survivor cup and the MVP crown There are some guys who are close to reaching that level in the ESW. Hell Rayne is almost there herself! She just needs to win the Soul Survivor. Rayne, the first lady of the ESW. The bad ass chick who has done it all in the ESW. Won every title, is a Grand Slam champion and won more matches than anyone in the history of the ESW with 113 victories to her credit and the guy in second place. Elite member and a record five time World champion Slipstream is so far behind her, it’s not even close! Rayne missed a year! And Slipstream didn’t even put a dent in her record. Even with everything she has done, she’s not Elite.”


Joe pauses for a second.


”As much as some people out there would love to the ESW banner wave in the air one more time…..it’s not going to happen. Listen, none of us want to deal with Steve Sinclair again. He was here once, for a year. You know how much of a dick he is. You saw what he did to me, what he did to Billy. Imagine what he would do if he was in power. It would be a nightmare! Trust me! You don’t want that at all. And Raven….God bless Raven wherever she is and whatever she is doing but she would be the very first to tell you to your face, she doesn’t want to see the ESW return for the simple fact that she wouldn’t want the headache. So to every fan at home, to all the guys in the back, step back and take a deep breath. The UWL.”


Joe slowly shakes his head.


”Isn’t going anywhere. But Joe! If the UWL isn’t going anywhere then why all this Team Empire stuff? Why the invasion? Why Pierce? Why Rayne? Why declare war on the UWL last week at Destiny? Why? Why? Why and the answer is this!


When I got my knee healed up two and half years ago and got the okay from doctors to go back and do what I love to do, the last place I was at was the ESW! Despite my disagreement with Steve he knew how to keep a locker room motivated! He knew how to keep a group of guys loose and easy going. Oh trust me he would turn the screws on you but he did to make you better, to go out there and put on better matches! To better yourself. He did it to get the best out of you! He also made sure no one had power in the lockerroom. He made sure his voice was the dominant voice and if someone tried to take his voice…..his power…...That’s when he brought the hammer down on you! Steve Sinclair, the seven foot four inch monster, you all saw him here for a year, a man that you can say a lot about and trust me, there is a lot you can say about him, went out of his way to make sure this was always the norm in the ESW and that was this. Everyone in the ESW. Everyone from Slipstream, to Rayne, to Prozac, To Shawn Sanders, all the way down to Killer MIke and god help me for saying this, Joe Santiago…..everyone was on the same level. There were no curtain jerkers. No mid carders. No main eventers. All of us, the rookies, the guys with a couple of years under our belts to the guys who spent 20 plus years in the ring…..we were all even. Anyone and I mean anyone could go on to win the ESW World title on any given night. There was no glass ceiling. It was all open season on your fellow co worker. It didn’t matter what title they held, how many wins they had. If you just walked into the place, you could win a title on your first night in the place and that did happen! Now I know that is a concept that might be foreign to some of you and you might be asking yourself, Joe how could that work? Joe that locker room must have been anchary! But it wasn’t! We had a brother hood back there that I haven’t seen anywhere else! It worked and lasted for as long as it did because the guy with his foot on the gas pedal, has a set of balls on him and a backbone made from titanium!”


Joe is pointing at the boom camera.


”The locker room in the back right now…..is wishy washy at best. And why is that? The UWL has seen an influx of new faces in that locker room in the last couple of weeks and all of those guys, Hardcore Comley, the returning Kris Slade. Rayne, Pierce, Sanders, Williams, Odyssey and even you Bowers…..you can see the feeling of not being welcomed here in the UWL. Oh yeah sure someone might say glad to have you! So glad to see you here! Welcome to the team or some bull like that and you know it’s just that. Hot air up your back side. But do you really feel welcome?”


Joe shakes his head.


”You feel like you have to explain your self. You feel like you have to prove yourself. You have to pay your dues. You just can’t come back after a year away and want a shot at the UWL Tag Team titles when clearly…...CLEARLY no one else wants that shot. Hell you quickly try to make those titles go away! You even get one half of the champions on board with this….bullshit. “Yeah there is no interests in the tag belts” you got him to say this after Emma and Ashley almost killed themselves trying to get those belts away from Brandon and company. Angelo and I return and all we want to do is go after the tag belts and before we can even announce what our purpose is for returning...you tried to kill it!”


Joe walks up to the ropes and almost starts to laugh.


”It almost reminded me of the time I went to your office and told you to your face that Steve was here for no good. He wasn’t here to be Alan’s personal ring announcer. He was here with his own agenda and I’m tell you that it won’t be good for the UWL, but did you listen to me? NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Oh Joe! Stop being so paranoid you would say. I don’t know many things in life but I know my uncle better than you do Jay….”


Joe places his foot on the second rope and pulls up his pants leg to reveal a scar on his leg, a scar from the surgery he had to have on it when Steve broken his leg.


”This is what happens when you take your concerns to Jay Jefferson and tell him, Hey! This guy! He’s bad news for me, for you and the UWL. Jay cost me a year plus of work and the same guy who did this to me, almost cost the UWL it’s biggest cash cow not named Caleb Hart…….”


Joe takes his foot off of the rope.


”And then there is Caleb Hart. Mister UWL himself. There is everyone in the locker room down here….and way up here on a pedestal is Caleb Hart and if you dare to say one negative word about him…..if you even think that you want a shot at that belt of his before you have been chosen…..you will have hell to pay. Oh it might not be from Caleb himself but rather through a back channel that was spearheaded from Jay himself. Don’t knock the golden boy. No one can tarnish the Tom Brady of the UWL! How dare you! But rest assure if you step out of line and do something neither one of them likes, you will be dealt with swiftly. Oh don’t believe me? Here let me show you two examples of this.


Josh Eagles. A UWL Icon! The UWL history is written on his body! Has made it know that this will be his last year inside this ring. He is hanging it up and wants to go out on top! The year of Eagles! Everyone is excited! Everyone is so happy not because Eagles is retiring but they know down the road we will get the matchup everyone wants to see. The dream match up. Eagles versus Hart! For the title! That was a match that should have happened by now! But it didn’t. Eagles made it known that he wanted Hart, he wanted the Triple Crown title, a title that just so happens Eagles has never held in the UWL. He wants it! Everyone wants it! Why did this match never happen? We all knew that Eagles was retiring this year! Instead Eagles goes out battling Bowers, Nascar Billy and Cory Chevelle. The fans of the UWL never got that match that they wanted. hmmmm.


Then there is the curios case of Nascar Billy. He claims he is the chosen one. He tells everyone that he has been handpicked to defeat Caleb Hart. Who told him that? We all assume it was Jay because Billy says it was Jay but who knows if it actually was or not. All we know is right now that Billy is walking around saying one word. Mine. Mine. Mine! He has been calling you out for months now! Not one word from the champ about him. He stood out there tonight after your match, pointed at you and said MINE! Our UWL Triple Crown Champion is being called out weekly and he does nothing! He’s too busy with Chris Nichols.


He’s too busy with Bowers.


He’s just too busy guys. It’s not Billy time apparently but it begs the question, will it ever be Billy’s time?”


Joe leans on the top rope.


”Is Caleb good? Yes. Is he a good champion? Yes. Does he make a good face of the company? Yes. Those titles weren’t handed to him…..well not that we can tell but there is a funny little fact about Caleb Hart. Some of you guys might not know this, but every guy who has ever beaten Caleb Hart and I mean every guy.”


Joe stands up.


”Is no longer in the UWL. Every single guy who was lucky enough to defeat Caleb Hart, is no longer around. They are all gone. Except for me and to be honest with you, I’m thinking Jay refusing to deal with Steve when I told him he was bad news was my punishment for beating Caleb Hart. I defeated Caleb Hart for the Heritage title…..couple of months later Steve shows up out of no where and breaks my leg.”


Joe leans back on the top rope.


”Then I return. I don’t want anything to do with single matches. I want to focus on tag team matches and as soon as I show up, Jay tries to make the tag division vanish. Am I being punished again? This war…...that you have labeled it. Isn’t the ESW trying to take over the UWL. This war is the spirit of the ESW, the brotherhood we had in the locker room from infecting the UWL.


This war is removing Caleb Hart from power…..


This war is forcing Jay to grow a spine and find his nutsack……


This war is for each and every single one of you back there to be able to feel at home, truly at home. The UWL is allot like this arena right now. Empty and only has one voice, a voice from a guy who doesn’t want to be threatened. A voice from a guy who doesn’t own the UWL.”


Joe pulls the mic away from his lips for a second and holds the mic back to his lips.


”I have never been somewhere where everyone has to line up like they are in grade school and wait for their shot at the UWL Triple Crown…..and the sheep just except it. It doesn’t really matter which title it is, single file, no cutting, everyone will get a shot, after a wink and nod. Tonight you saw me challenge Jay Jefferson. I poked the bear and I knew I was going to be punished. Tonight I get a message saying that I face Caleb Hart next week.”


Joe shakes his head and smirks.


”Was I looking for a match against Caleb Hart? Nope. I was looking for a match against Brandon Shadows and Durrigan. A match by the way I EARNED! Instead I get the Floyd Mayweather of the UWL, I get the guy who ducks the guys who really want to face him. But. Tonight. I showed all of you what can happen if you push back and push Jay buttons. I get to face off against the man himself! Caleb Freaking Hart! A non title match and god willing, if I defeat Caleb Hart again…..how quickly do you think I will get a rematch against him, this time for the UWL Triple Crown title?”


Joe stands up and retrieves his slurpee. He takes a sip from it.


”I wouldn’t hold your breath for that match if I was you.”


Joe winks and drops the mic and climbs out of the ring.


Fade out.