High in the skies, Max and Trevor are relaxing on their flight to Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. Max, however does not look to be in the best of the shape though.
Trevor: You okay buddy?
Max’s face is pale, beads of sweat are forming. Max wipes his brow with his sleeve.
Max: I don’t know man. It must have been something I ate.
Trevor chuckles.
Trevor: Or drank. You had quite a few brews yesterday.
Max glares at his partner and crime with a look of disdain. He puts his head between his knees.
Max: Maybe. Ugh... I think you’re right.
Trevor pats him on the back mockingly. Max lets out a groan.
Trevor: There, there my friend. Damn brother you need to learn to have limits.
Max: Screw you man... it was your family’s damn home brew. It was probably contaminated.
Trevor: Hey now! That stuff is the shit! You just can’t handle your booze. Suck it up cupcake.
Max gags a bit. Trevor backs up. Max jumps up out of his seat and darts to the washroom.
Trevor: Don’t puke on the little old lady!
Max reaches the bathroom, but to his horror it’s occupied. Max frantically looks around for somewhere to puke. To his relief he spots a garbage can, he buries his head relieves himself of yesterday’s Irons family home brew.
Trevor: MAX! JESUS! GROSS!
A flight attendant walks up to Max as he finishes. A look of disgust crosses her face. Max pulls his head out of the can and wipes his mouth.
Max: I am so sorry, I must have a bug. The bathroom was occupied, and I just couldn’t hold it any longer.
The flight attendant directs Max to the sink to dump the contents of the can. Max obliges and returns to his seat very embarrassed.
Trevor: You okay?
Max shoots him a look and plunks down in his seat. He grabs his bottle of water.
Trevor: Mint?
Trevor dumps a few breath mints in Max’s hand. He then dumps half the container in Max’s hand.
Trevor: There we go. Tummy all better now?
Max: Shut up.
Trevor laughs at his partner’s embarrassing moment with the gorgeous flight attendant.
Max: Yeah, I feel better now. Definitely blaming the home brew.
Trevor: Lightweight.
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A couple hours later, the Young Lions’ plane touches down in Moncton, New Brunswick. Max and Trevor gather their bags.
Unknown Lady: MAXI!
A lady, in probably her early to mid 50’s dashes towards Max Burke. Max drops his bags and embraces her. She squeezes him tight.
Max: Okay, okay. Let go.
Trevor: Who’s this enchanting lady?
Trevor smirks at his partner. The lady lets go of Max.
Max: Trevor, this is my mother. Mom, this is Trevor Irons.
Trevor: Ma’am.
Mrs. Burke: Nice to meet you Trevor. Welcome to New Brunswick. How was your flight kids.
Max: It was okay.
Trevor: He puked.
Max: Trev!
Trevor: He had one too many.
Trevor laughs at Max.
Max: Because of you bathtub brew!
Trevor: Lightweight.
Mrs. Burke: Kids. Stop.
Max and Trevor: Yes, mom!
Mrs. Burke: Don’t be smart. I’ll take you to the gym.
Max and Trevor pick up their bags and head out of the airport. They hop in Max’s mother’s car and heads to his uncle’s gym.
Max: We’re heading to the Burke Wrestling Academy.
Trevor: Catchy.
Max: Yeah, they decided to finally buy an actual facility. Kicking butt in the backyard or the garage was getting old. And, then there was the whole insurance issue.
Trevor: Insurance? Damn people suck nowadays. I miss it when you could just knock heads together and not have to worry bout the paperwork.
Max: Back when they trained me, nobody thought about insurance. You go to get trained and to try and break into the business. Too many damn regulations now. We’re going after hours though.
Trevor: Great, no witnesses for the ass kicking.
Max: Pretty much. It’s probably just going to you, me, uncle Len and maybe one or two of the students.
Mrs. Burke: We’ll be there in about 10 minutes.
Max: I hear it’s a nice gym. Haven’t been in it yet. They only opened it this year.
The car eventually pulls into the parking lot of a small strip mall in Moncton. The BWA sign is small, nothing fancy. The boys hop out of the car and grab their bags. A gruff man opens the door of the gym and steps out into the brisk air.
Max: Uncle Len!
Len: Maxwell. How ya doin’ kid?
Max: I’m good. You’re looking good.
Len: Quick sucking up. Let’s go. You too son.
Trevor: Yes sir.
Len steps inside the gym. Trevor grabs Max’s sleeve and holds him back for a second.
Max: What?
Trevor: He’s a real pleasant sort.
Max: I told you he’s old school. He doesn’t know you yet. Earn his respect Trevor. He’s about to whip both of our asses.
Max opens the door to the gym, and waves Trevor through. As both men enter the academy, they stop dead in their tracks. Nice really isn’t the word to describe the facility. Barebones would be a better word. There’s a weight bench and a few dumbbells. There are a couple exercise bikes. In the far corner there is a rickety old boxing ring... it’s not even a professional wrestling ring.
Len: Get changed boys. Let’s go! Hurry up.
Trevor swallows hard as he passes the ring. He shoots a look at Max.
Trevor: This is going to be SO much fun.
Max: Get ready, it’s only just begun.
Max laughs out loud as they hit the locker room to change. The boys reemerge and head to the ring, where Len is waiting for them impatiently.
Len: Max, you remember the good old days? Time for squats. Go!
Trevor (underneath his breath): Fuck me.
The Young Lions obey orders and start their squats. Len leans up against the corner of the ring and watches intently.
Len: Max filled me in that you’re squaring off against thoroughbreds in a couple of weeks. You said the new champs right?
Max (grunting): Yes, sir.
Max and Trevor’s faces say it all. Squats suck. They push through.
Len: I looked at the videos you sent me of them. Kid in the mask is fast. Max, you know how to stretch. You need to take his legs out early. Ground the hood and don’t let him fly. The other guy, Kain is strong, he looks like he has a few pounds on you two. You need to fight smart. Cut the ring off and lots of quick tags.
Trevor and Max (both grunting): Yes, sir.
Len: Ok stop. That’s enough.
Trevor and Max drop to the mat in unison, relieved that the hindu squats are finished.
Len: You’re getting soft Max.
Max: I missed your training uncle Len, what can I say. You want to show Trev a few old locks?
Trevor interjects.
Trevor: I’d be happy to observe! Mr. Burke, I’d love to see you tie Max up.
Len: Sorry son, he’s been there plenty before. Time to open your eyes to the old ways. Come on over.
Trevor: Shit. Yes, sir.
Trevor steps up to Len with hesitation. Within moments, Len has Trevor on the mat with a nerve hold that came out of nowhere. Len switches to a variation of a headlock and sleeper, Trevor grunts in pain trying to free himself. He lets out a yell, and Len releases the hold.
Len: Now, how was that?
Trevor rubs his neck trying to work out the pain.
Trevor: Educational.
Max: You okay?
Trevor: Peachy. Mr. Burke, mind showing me that? Could come in handy.
Len: I’ll show you kids lots. Let’s get to work.
The scene fades out as Len Burke barks out instructions at the Young Lions, who listen intently.
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When we return to the gym several days have passed. The guys have been pushed nearly to their limits but both Lions feel like they are more prepared for their match ahead. Tomorrow they head to Vegas but for now they have one more thing to do. A favor for Len. Outside the ring a dozen young fighters are sitting on metal chairs.
Len: Now I know some of you have heard me mention my nephew Max. He is working a big promotion in the states and he is here for a few days training. Now while the states have softened his fighting skills one of the things that shows improvement is his promos... so listen up.
Trevor and Max step forward.
Trevor: Well shoot it’s kind of weird to be doing this like a class... I mean I became a wrestler because I sucked at school. But lets give this a try. Anyone here watch SCW?
Some of the students raise their hands.
Max: Well let me catch you guys up. We have a tag team title match against a team called Blood Omen. Kain and Frost have teamed up and won the titles recently. Kain is well... mean. Frost is uh... unique.
Trevor: What he means to say is that we are up against a flying masked mystery man and a guy who did not get enough hugs growing up... see that is me using a little bit of humor.
The group laughs a little bit and Trevor smiles.
Max: Yeah, Trevor here is a wiseass that’s for sure. He is good at it, but its good to balance that out. A good promo is not just about cracking jokes. You have to be clear about why you're going into this match strong. You see Trevor and I have been a team for awhile, where Kain and Frost just recently got together. That’s one of our strengths. We’ve had the time to gel as a team. Our styles complement each other well. It’s kind of funny because Kain and Frost have somewhat similar styles too, but they’re not really a team yet.
Trevor: Hell yeah, see that is what I am talking about. What I love about Max is he keeps it simple and direct, because at the end of the day this is not a debate we will be having, it’s a fight. See Frost can talk like some weirdo and that is his thing, but what makes him a threat is his ability in the ring. Kain can scowl and growl better than almost anyone, he is a really angry dude... but that is not enough. Your promo has to get that point across. It’s like you are going to war and you're just letting the other side know what kind of ass kicking they're getting.
Max: That’s right Trevor. To sum it up... use the KISS philosophy. Keep it simple stupid. Be direct. Don’t leave the fans scratching their heads. Make the fans believe in what you say. You need to hold them in the palms of your hands.
Trevor: Intensity is good too, but for the love of god don’t yell the entire time. You’ll lose them. You’ll look stupid. You need to know when to jack the volume.
Max: Better known as the warrior. Len always taught me to keep the volume low and the intensity high. Show the intensity in your eyes... in your mannerisms. You don’t need to yell to be intense.
Len Burke steps up and interjects.
Len: So, what we are going to do now is let the boys shoot a spot for the SCW website. The office wanted some hype for New Year Rising, so we’re going to do it right here, right now. Jimmy, is the camera ready?
A young member of Len’s staff nods his head.
Len: Max... Trevor... you’re up.
The cameraman counts the Young Lions down. Max and Trevor sit on the edge of the ring with the students looking up at them.
Max: January 13th. Sin City Wrestling’s New Year Rising. Blood Omen defends against the Young Lions.
Trevor: Blood Omen has had our number lately. There’s no denying that. The numbers don’t lie. We lost the triple threat. Max lost to Frost.
Max: The past is in the past. Those losses were learning experiences. Those losses will make us stronger in the end.
Trevor: This right here will also make us stronger. Max brought me to his home. We are here at his uncle’s academy. His uncle has been kicking our collective asses for days now. With these ass kickings come education. We are learning so much about the history of professional wrestling. We are learning invaluable techniques.
Max: My uncle has tied us into knots since we’ve arrived. He is breaking us down, and building us back up. We’ve honestly turned a corner with this reeducation.
Trevor: We are ready to show the entire world the fruits of our labor. Kain and Frost are the champions for a reason. But, the knowledge I’ve taken in since coming to Canada is priceless. I feel that the Young Lions without a doubt are a better team.
Max: We are going to show it on January 13th when we step into the squared circle against the SCW Tag Team Champions. We go in as the challengers and we leave with new found respect and gold around our waists.
Trevor: It’s time for the Young Lions to step up and get noticed. We need to prove that we are the new generation of tag team wrestling. It’s time to pounce.
[After a pause, the cameraman confirms they have cut.]
Len: And that is how you cut a promo kids. Thanks guys. Class dismissed.
[End]
