Stopping The Show: Part ISCW Home Video in conjunction with Generation X Entertainment, Inc. proudly present…
[The screen shows a montage of Drake’s matches and victories and a narrator can be heard over the footage.]
Narrator: A man of the people. That’s how some would describe him. Others would call him an egotistical playboy. But whatever opinion you may have of him, there’s no denying one thing: Drake Green is one of the most prolific and dynamic performers professional wrestling has to offer today and this…is his story.[The camera cuts to Kenny Chisholm, the former ACW play-by-play announcer. He sits in a chair wearing a dark blue suit with a burgundy shirt and matching tie. He smiles at the camera as it comes into focus.]
KC: Welcome. My name is Kenny Chisholm and welcome to ‘Stopping the Show: The Drake Green Story”. Today we take a look back at the young but storied career of the man who will challenge Kevin Carter for the SCW Heavyweight Championship at High Stakes III; Drake Green. From tragedy to triumph, we’ll look into a life filled with all the successes and failures that true drama is all about. Thanks for joining us, Drake.
[The camera cuts to Drake, sitting across from Kenny, wearing a dark blue blazer with an open-collared white shirt underneath.]
Drake: It’s a pleasure, Kenny. It’s good to see you.
Kenny: So tell me Drake, where did it all start?
Drake: I would have to say home. In Galena, Illinois.
Narrator: Galena, Illinois. A small town that is situated in the rolling hills of the northwestern corner of the state. The town’s population, like many others in the Midwest, is made up of blue-collar families. Hard working Americans struggling through everyday life. A life that is usually put on hold on Saturday nights.Drake: There are two things that the people of Galena are truly passionate about. That’s the Chicago Bears and pro wrestling.
Narrator: Drake was born, the younger of two sons, to regional pro wrestling celebrity Jonathan “Johnny the Body” Green and his wife Annette Drake. During childbirth, his mother contracted an infection to which she never recovered. She died just three months later.KC: What was that like? Having to grow up without a mother.
Drake: You know, I can’t really answer that. I didn’t know her so it was probably a pretty easy thing for a young kid to deal with. I know my brother Nick was pretty bent up about it. For a long time.
KC: How long after your mom passed was it until your father remarried?
Drake: I think I was three.
Narrator: On July 4th, 1987 Jonathan married local television reporter Phyllis Fuller. Not long after, Phyllis gave birth to a baby girl, Jennifer Green.Drake: I loved being a big brother. I still do. Jenny is a free spirit. I’m glad I still have her around.
KC: So what was it like in Galena as a child?
Drake: My dad was pretty much a local celebrity. He still is. Even now, when I go back there, I’m just ‘Johnny’s Boy’ to them. I grew up wishing I could live up to the legacy. Both Nick and I did.
KC: Did you guys travel a lot with him?
Drake: The business was different back then. He didn’t travel all over or anything like we do today. Most of his matches were in the Madhouse.
Narrator: The “Madhouse on Madison” was the popular nickname for the old Chicago Stadium. A 20,000 seat arena that was called home for both the Chicago Bulls and the Blackhawks, was also the regional mecca for professional wrestling.KC: Tell me more about your father.
Johnny the Body circa 1989Drake: Once again, it’s one of those things where you don’t remember all that much. You tend to block any of the bad stuff out so all you have left are the good memories. What I remember? I remember the coolest guy in the world. Big hair and big muscles and he always wore these ridiculous sunglasses. My brother Nick and I would put them on and they would like cover our entire faces.
[Drake makes hand gestures of giant glasses.]
Drake: I don’t really have memories of lots of “Dad” stuff. He was always working. Even though he did the pro wrestling thing he also worked as an iron worker, most of which was also in Chicago, so he would get up real early and make the drive with a couple of his buddies. They would hang out near the jobsites just hoping to get some work. You could always tell the days when he didn’t get any work ‘cause he would still have to wait there all day for whoever was done working since they all drove out together. He was pretty angry on those days.
KC: How was your relationship with your stepmother during this period.
Drake: Again, I was really young. Phyllis was a very capable mother figure for us. She would make us lunch and dinner and make sure we got to school. There was always a bit of friction between her and Nick though but nothing I really felt at that age.
KC: What about when your father passed?
Drake: When my father died it was tough.
Narrator: In a freak accident in the ring, Johnny the Body’s neck and back were broken. His broken spine punctured the right ventricle in his heart. He died inside of the ring on November 18th, 1992.Drake: My dad was in a tag team at the time, “Team Gorgeous” with a guy at the time called Maximus the Magnificent.
Maximus the Magnificent circa 1988Drake: They were defending their titles against a couple of really big, really over-aggressive dudes. Unfortunately there was an accident and the rest is history. I guess the saving grace of it is that we would normally go with him when he wrestled. We loved watching him. This just happened to be one of the few times where we stayed home.
KC: What happened after that?
Drake: A lot.
[Drake lets out a small chuckle.]
Drake: Phyllis left. She took Jenny and moved to Bakersfield, California. I think she had a hard time dealing with it. She pretty much disowned me and Nick. Luckily for us, Max was there.
Narrator: Drake’s father’s tag team partner and friend, ‘Maximus the Magnificent’ was Maxwell Proffo, not only Jonathan Green’s best friend but also a surrogate uncle to his children.Drake: You know he really took us in. Right away with no questions asked. He...uh…really saved us. Who knows what would’ve happened with Phyllis if he didn’t step in.
KC: Did you still have a relationship with her after she left?
Drake: No. We didn’t speak for about four or five years or so after she left. And even that was by accident, only because I called to speak with Jenny and she wasn’t home. We ended up talking for a while.
KC: About what?
Drake: My brother Nick mostly. They didn’t get along at all. She was really against him getting into wrestling.
Nick Green circa 2000Drake: My brother and I had always wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps. Since Maxy was our guardian, that’s all we knew anyway. After my father died Max hit the national circuit. He hit it pretty big too for a while so we were always traveling. We spent a lot of time in New York and Los Angeles. It was right about that time, when were doing most of our traveling, that Nick and I began wrestling each other. We were always part of the ring crew so one night, after the matches were done, we just hopped in the ring and started whipping each other around. We gave each other a few leg drops and what not and we had no idea that Max was watching us.
[The camera cuts to Max, Drake’s friend and trainer.]
Max: These kids were naturals. I mean they really knew how to fly around. I’m pretty sure when this started Drake was about twelve and Nick was about fifteen. Every night after a match they’d hop up there and start beating each other up. After a while they just started working their own matches. Start to finish. All the guys would have a couple of beers and watch them go at it.
[The camera cuts back to Drake.]
Drake: Those were some of the worst matches I ever worked.
[Drake laughs.]
Drake: There was one night though in Atlanta when we were trying out some new stuff, we had been working on our top rope stuff, that Ric Flair actually came up to us. I’ll never forget that. He walked right up to us and said “Nice moves.” That was it, but for a thirteen-year-old kid who idolized everything pro wrestling, it was like I had already made it.
Narrator: Over the next few years, Nick and Drake travelled the country with Max, honing their craft and waiting for their time to come. In June of 1999, it came for Nick.Drake: Nick was a natural in the ring. A much better technical wrestler than I could ever dream to be. He was like a better looking version of Max Burke.
[Drake chuckles.]
KC: How was it watching your brother in action against someone other than you?
Drake: It was great. He was a seasoned veteran at eighteen. He wrestled circles around guys with ten years experience.
Narrator: Nick quickly made a name for himself as one of the top cruiserweights in the country, placing in the semi-finals of the annual Super J Cup tournament. However, it wasn’t until the fall of 2002, when Drake finally joined him in the ring, that the Green brothers garnered real interest from major promotions.[The camera cuts to Max.]
Max: Nick had the look and all of the skills, on the mic too. But he was young and pretty raw at the time. But when Drake got in the ring with him, it was magic.
Drake Green - High School Graduation Photo - 2002[The camera cuts back to Drake.]
Drake: I had just graduated high school at the time. My graduation present from Nick was my wrestling tights. He was ready. He had the name picked out and everything. He was already “ACTION PACKED” Nick Green and he wanted me to be “SHOW STOPPER” Drake Green and the tag team name was going to be “THE MAIN EVENT”. It all stuck for the most part, after a few months I became “MR. SHOWTIME” and the rest is history.
KC: What was it like, being in that tag team with Nick?
Drake: It was the best time of my life. I mean, Nick and I were more than brothers. We were best friends. We won a lot of matches in that first run. I don’t think we lost for the first couple of years. People were pretty surprised but we had been in the ring together since we were little kids so the chemistry was just off the charts.
[The camera cuts to former ACW Owner JJ Dixon.]
JJ: I got to see the two of them together, I think in 2003, in Calgary. To this day I haven’t seen a more fluid team of two wrestlers. They moved in a way that just dwarfed what everyone else at the time was doing.
[The camera cuts to Max.]
Max: Nothing made me more proud of them than when they won the tag titles together back in 2003. They were the closest I ever came to having children so to see them accomplish something they had worked so hard for and had wanted for years, it was incredible.
[The camera cuts back to Drake.]
Drake: I remember the night when we won the tag titles. We were in San Jose and after the match we went back to our dressing room and we locked ourselves in. I’m pretty sure we were in there for about three hours just talking and laughing. It was the most awesome feeling I think I’ve ever had.
KC: What else was going on in your life at that point?
Drake: It was right about then that Nick and I started to reconnect with our sister Jenny. She was going through some tough times with her mom, and she needed someone to talk to. Naturally she reached out to us.
KC: What was she dealing with?
Drake: Her mom was having a lot of issues at the time, she had a pretty bad alcohol dependency and she had a sixteen-year-old daughter so you could imagine what those fights were like. We had just moved to Los Angeles full time so it was pretty easy for her to come down and see us. We got to spend a lot of time together at that time, the three of us. It was nice.
KC: When was it that you and Nick had decided to part ways as a tag team?
Drake: It was the beginning of 2005. We had been champions for about eighteen months and we finally lost the titles. Nick had always had this dream of being the big-time singles competitor, Heavyweight champion, all that stuff so he decided that if he was gonna break the mold and move passed tag team wrestling then that was his time to do so.
[The camera cuts to Max.]
Max: I think it really hurt Drake when Nick broke the team up. We all knew it was a matter of time before both of them went on to great singles careers but I don’t think Drake really understood that yet and I know he wasn’t ready.
[The camera cuts to Drake’s sister, Jenny Green.]
Jenny: Drake and Nick were best friends. They were spending every waking moment together. Living and working together and even hanging out together. I think Nick thought that by breaking that routine that they would be even closer together, if they accomplished similar things apart as they did together. I just don’t think Drake saw it that way. Not then anyway.
[The camera cuts back to Drake.]
Drake: I think the worst part came when they came back and said hey, we don’t wanna push you as a singles competitor, meaning me, so we’re gonna pair you with this guy. So there I was thinking hey, you’re making big money now on your own and I have to partner with a guy I don’t even know. F*** this. I quit right there. Probably the dumbest yet smartest thing I ever did.
[The camera cuts to Max.]
Max: Here they are, Nick’s getting into a program with the World Television champion and Drake goes ahead and quits his job.
[Max laughs.]
Max: He comes to me and says ‘Maxy, if it’s not Nick then I don’t wanna be in a tag team.” So I make a few calls and amazingly, nobody wants him. The only guy I found that was even interested in him was a guy by the name of Saido Hakata of Young Japan Pro Wrestling based out of Tokyo. He offers him a place to live for six months and a wage that was so ridiculously low that at first, I didn’t even mention it to him.
[The camera cuts to Drake.]
Drake: So we’re at lunch one day and Max says, ‘maybe we shoulda took that Japan thing.” I’m like “What Japan thing!?” So he tells me and I figure I might as well call this Hakata guy and see what it’s all about. So I get him on the phone and he says to me, I’ll never forget this, he tells me that while I can only offer you $150 per week in Tokyo, one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in, but you’ll wrestle everyday and I’ll teach you everything I know. He said it just like that. Of course, me being twenty years old…”Where do I sign up?”
[The camera cuts to Saido Hakata, Owner & Founder of Young Japan Pro Wrestling and Multi-Time World Champion]
Hakata: Drake was an usual talent. One you don't find too often. Very raw and very eager to learn. I told him, I'm gonna beat you up every day for six months and if you don't cry too much, I let you stay in my basement.
Narrator: For a young man like Drake, who had never left his native country, living in Tokyo was like a dream.
Drake Green – Tokyo, Japan - 2005Drake: I really fell in love with the Japanese lifestyle. The way they ate, the way they dressed, even the way they did their hair. It was such an amazing experience to have at that age and on top of all of that, Saido was the greatest teacher I've ever had. I hope Max isn't watching.
[Drake laughs.]
Drake: When I first showed up in YJPW I really thought I was the greatest thing that ever happened to them. It was a huge shock for me when I realized that I really knew nothing and I just got my ass kicked day in and day out for like a month.
[The camera cuts to Max.]
Max: As a tag team wrestler, with his brother, Drake was fantastic. He had great instincts and he knew how to put a match together. But when it came time to get in the ring by himself, he just didn't have that yet. He didn't have the stamina or quite honestly, he didn't have the skill yet.
[The camera cuts back to Saido.]
Saido: Drake was very raw. He could flip around the ring very easy, but he didn't know how to punish his opponent. He thought you win every match with a body slam and a leg drop. I showed him how to grab his enemy and squeeze him. How to make him hurt so bad that he has no choice but to give up.
Saido Hakata circa 1965Narrator: A master of submission holds, Saido Hakata rose to fame in the late 1960s as one of the most feared wrestler's coming out of Japan. He earned his first World Championship in 1973 and held it until 1977. He is still recognized as the most decorated Japanese cruiserweight of all time.Drake: When I was wrestling with Nick, my finishing move was literally a leg drop. So when I got to YJPW, I was just schooled by Saido's students. He really put an emphasis on submission. It was his philosophy that no matter how many times you knocked your opponent down, he would keep coming back. So to put him away for good, you had to hurt him. Either make him tap out or even pass out. He didn't care.
[The camera cuts to former SCW Superstar, Chett ‘Hangman’ Hawkins.]
Hangman: I first met Drake in the spring of 2005 in Japan. I was working a stint with Young Japan and Saido Hakata said he wanted me to get in the ring with this young American punk he had living in his basement. You knew there was something with this kid but when I finally got to wrestle him it was like magic.
[The camera moves back to Drake.]
Drake: One of the best programs I ever worked was in YJPW with Hangman Hawkins. The dude was a monster and he gave it his all, all the time. Our matches were some of the most fluid work that I had done up to that point. It was a great fit with the power style he put on display and all the technical stuff I was doing with Saido at the time. That feud really did the most toward molding the Drake Green you see today in Sin City Wrestling.
Narrator: Over the next few months Drake would hone his craft as a technician and submission expert. He went on to be crowned YJPW’s first American Cruiserweight Champion and after six months under Saido Hakata’s tutelage, Drake was ready to return home.[The camera cuts to Saido.]
Saido: Six months came and went and at the end I say to him, ‘Stay. I pay you good money now. You don’t suck so much anymore.’ But he was ready to move on. He was ready for the next chapter in his life.
[The camera cuts to Max.]
Max: Things were different now when Drake came back. The big promotions wanted him and they wanted him pretty bad. The thing was, there was only one thing he wanted to do.
[The camera cuts back to Drake.]
Drake: My ego probably had probably tripled by the time I came back from Japan. But, I knew Nick was struggling where he was and could use the boost so ’THE MAIN EVENT’ went on a second run.
Narrator: After a few short weeks, Drake and Nick were sharing tag team gold again.KC: How different was that second title, as opposed to the first reign you guys had?
Drake: I think we were a bit more mature in the way we approached the business side of thing. When we were younger it was more about, ‘Hey we want a match and then we wanna go out and party”. This time we were both a lot more serious about it all.
KC: Your first title reign together lasted nearly two years but your second only a few short months. Why is that?
Drake: I think some of the magic had faded by then. Nick had really concentrated on getting his size bigger so he could be looked at differently than just a cruiserweight. The went a long way toward changing the way he moved in the ring. On top of that I was a completely different wrestler. We had both begun to grow in to complete singles competitors and somewhere along the way we forgot how to coexist as a team.
KC: How did things go for you after that second break up?
Drake: For me things were on a huge upswing. I was in the hunt for the Cruiserweight title and they had already approached me with a few endorsement ideas. For Nick, things were a bit tougher. He wasn’t gaining the traction as a Heavyweight contender he was hoping for. He was hovering around the mid-card and that seemed to be a taking a bit of a toll on him. The worst part I think for him was his lack of direction. It seemed as if they were throwing him on the filler matches not because he wasn’t good enough to hold a better time slot but more because they just couldn’t figure out what to do with him.
[The camera cuts to Max.]
Max: Drake’s success at that point was a bit of a pill for Nick to swallow. Don’t get me wrong he loved his brother more than anything in the world but still, his pride was definitely effected.
As Drake’s career continued to soar, Nick began to look for other avenues to grow himself as a performer.[The camera cuts to Jenny Green.]
Jenny: It was right about the time they broke up the second time that Nick had this crazy idea of getting in to the movie business. He had met this Hollywood producer who made all of these absurd “B” action movies about aliens and silly stuff like that. Anyway, the guy wanted Nick really bad. He had already built his body up pretty good so he totally looked the part of an action star.
Nick Green – 2006[The camera cuts to Drake.]
Drake: I remember when he first came up with the idea of getting in to action movies. He showed me these ridiculous pictures of him in a really tiny green shirt, trying to show off his muscles. At first I was really surprised. He had worked so hard at the wrestling thing that It was a total shock to me that he wanted to move on to something else. But after a few weeks, you know I met the guy, things actually started to take shape for him. He was all set to do his first movie, some crazy Mars adventure type flick, but there was a bit of a snag with finances I guess. The producer wanted Nick to…
[Drake stops for a moment. He collects his thoughts and starts again.]
Drake: The producer wanted to Nick to come to a party at his house to try and help him smooth over these guys. I guess he thought once they met Nick all their concerns would go away. He asked me to go with him…
[Drake stops again, this time looking at the floor. After a moment, he looks back up at the camera.]
Drake: He asked me to go and I couldn’t. I had some promotional stuff to do for wrestling and I just couldn’t get out of it. It was July 4th 2006.
[The camera cuts to Max.]
Max: When we first got the call it was…a bit unbelievable actually. A bit of a shock.
[The camera cuts to Jenny Green.]
Jenny: I remember Max called me it was just a little after 1 in the morning. He said…he said there had been an accident.
[The camera cuts back to Drake.]
Drake: He was on his way home from the party and a drunk driver crossed over the line. They say he was doing about eighty miles per hour.
[Drake wipes away a lone tear as it streams down his right cheek.]
Drake: I got the call from the emergency room around eleven, by the time I got there…it was too late.
Scene of Nick Green’s AccidentNarrator: Nick Green died on July 4th, 2006. An oncoming motorist, who was under the influence, crossed over the double yellow line and hit Nick’s vehicle head on.Drake: The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do was bury my brother. It really sent me in to a sort of downward spiral.
[The camera cuts to Max.]
Max: No he didn’t take it well at all. We all had a tough time. Nick was like a son to me but for Drake it was another level. It’s when his drinking really started. He quit wrestling, stopped returning phone calls. He moved out of his apartment and started staying at hotels. It was a tough thing to watch.
[The camera cuts back to Drake.]
Drake: I didn’t want to do it anymore. I wanted to move on. Start a whole new chapter but I didn’t know how to get away. And one night I just snapped.
[The camera cuts back to Max.]
Max: We were in a club, in Chicago actually. We had to square up some will and estate legal things so already Drake was in a bad mood. We were at this club and that’s when he dropped this bomb on me that he was quitting wrestling and he was done with everything. I tried to talk him out of it and he just got really angry with me over the whole thing.
[The camera moves back to Drake.]
Drake: I think, at the time, I kind of channeled a lot of my anger toward Max. He was a heavy drinker back then and with everything that happened he just ended up being my scapegoat. One night, we just went at it. It got real physical.
[The camera cuts back to Max.]
Max: I think my drinking at the time also made things a bit worse. We got loud and he hit me. I should’ve backed down but I didn’t. I said some things I wasn’t proud of and we didn’t talk for while.
[The camera cuts back to Drake.]
Drake: Basically, the guy whooped my ass and that was it. I was done. I was dead set on finding a new life. So I did. I left and I headed east.
PLEASE INSERT DISC TWO***************************************************************Family Reunion: Part ISeptember 30th, 2013 – Colony Beach Club, Barbados – 2:15 AM
[The loud crashing from the water smashing against the rocks can be heard from all the way across the beach. The dark Barbados sky provides a beautiful contrast from the bright glistening of the post-midnight stars. The moon provides just enough light so that we can see clearly along the Colony Beach. Sitting, about a hundred yards back from the water line, is Drake Green. Wearing black Nike gym shorts, sandals, and plain white t-shirt, he stares up at the serene looking sky with a wide smile on his face. He pulls a bottle of Johnny Walker up to his mouth and takes a large swig before his smile returns. He thinks about the events that just took place at Climax Control. He finally got his. With the help of his newfound friend Rage, Drake was finally able to fight off Hot Stuff Mark Ward and all of his followers. He knew his victory would be short lived though. He new Hot Stuff would figure out a way to start making his life miserable again. It was only a matter of time. But for tonight, Drake was on top. He takes another swig of his bottle before he turns his head around. He can hear the footsteps in the sand moving toward him. It is a bit too dark at first to make out who it was, but then an even wider smile came over Drake’s face.]
Barry: Showtime!
[Barry Goldstein, Drake’s agent, walks across the sand in what can only be described in a ridiculous attempt to look like a yacht captain. He’s wearing white pants and shoes and a blue blazer with an ascot tucked underneath. His blonde hair slicked back with sunglasses sitting on top of his head. He puffs on his cigar as he gets closer to his friend and client. Drake can’t help but squeeze out a small chuckle.]
Drake: What the hell are you wearing?
Barry: What? We’re in Barbados.
Drake: So.
Barry: Dude, I’ve gotten so much trim with this outfit.
Drake: You’re ridiculous.
Barry: Maybe, but you tell them you got a eighty footer, panties drop before you can say “Ahoy”!
Drake: Just stop. I don’t think I wanna know any more.
Barry: Suit yourself.
[Barry takes a seat on the beach next to him. Drake offers him the bottle of scotch and Barry obliges, taking a swig of his own. He lets out a refreshing sigh before giving the bottle back to Drake.]
Barry: So it’s official.
Drake: What’s that?
Barry: Just got off of the phone with Christian Underwood. You’re going to High Stakes, my friend.
[Drake’s smile gets a bit bigger.]
Drake: You’re kidding? They’re actually going to give me a title shot? After all this shit with Mark Ward?
Barry: What can I say? I’m a genius.
Drake: Nobody else in the match? Not some six pack, seven box super challenge match? Just me and Carter?
Barry: Who’s the best damn agent this shit sport has ever seen?
Drake: Oh wow. Does Max know?
Barry: I thought you would wanna tell him. He’s holed up at the bar over there. Don’t worry, he’s drinking club soda like a pussy.
[Drake smiles.]
Drake: I can’t thank you enough, Barry. I don’t know if Maxy and I could have navigated our way through all of this mess without you. I appreciate it.
[Barry puts his arm on Drakes shoulder.]
Barry: I may be your agent, kid. But I’m also your friend. So do me a favor. Kick this guy’s teeth in for me.
Drake: Will do.
Barry: Now go on, go tell Max. But…um…leave this here.
[Barry grabs the bottle of Johnny Walker out from Drake’s hands.]
Drake: Sure thing.
[He puts his hand on Barry’s shoulder as he gets up and starts to head across the beach toward the bar in the distance. He takes in the refreshing beach air as he walks, contemplating the long journey it’s taken him to get to this point of his career. A Heavyweight title shot. Something he had dreamed about for his whole life. To be on top of the mountain, to be the king of it all. That’s all he’s wanted since returning to wrestling some nine months prior. A chance to be the champion his brother and father always wanted to be. He walks on the sand and stares at the sky as he thinks of the man he must go through to complete his journey. A charismatic, yet egotistical grappler. A good-looking wrestler who embodies most of what professional wrestling about these days. “Sound familiar?” he thinks to himself. Kevin Carter and Drake are so similar it is almost scary. Perhaps too similar, as that could be the driving force to their budding rivalry. Who knows? But it could make for a very interesting match at High Stakes III.
He gets closer to the quiet, near empty beach bar and he can finally make Max out. Sitting a small cocktail table, drinking his club soda and reading a book. He is wearing a dark gray polo. His salt and pepper hair is a bit of a mess and his five o’clock shadow is forming into a full beard. Drake gets closer and he calls out to Max.]
Drake: Hey, Maxy!
[Max looks up and smiles as he sees Drake.]
Max: You should be sleeping.
Drake: Always worried.
[Drake makes his way in to the open area bar and sits down across from Max.]
Max: It’s my job to worry, D. Someone has to do it for you.
Drake: Why worry at all?
Max: I can’t imagine what life would be like if there wasn’t at least one person out there worrying about you.
[Max smiles.]
Drake: You talk to Barry?
Max: No.
[Max leans back in his chair and picks up his book again.]
Max: Last I saw he was running around in captain’s outfit trying to pretend he had a yacht.
Drake: He booked it.
[Max lowers his book.]
Max: He booked…what?
Drake: A heavyweight title match.
Max: You’re kidding. How did he get around Hot Stuff?
Drake: I don’t know. He said Christian Underwood booked it.
Max: Well, isn’t that something? We got a lot of work to do kid. Just ‘cause you beat this guy once doesn’t mean you can beat him again. He won’t be caught napping again that’s for sure.
Drake: I know.
Max: Do you? This is the Heavyweight championship, D. We gotta hit the gym every day, twice a day.
Drake: Yeah sure thing, Maxy. As soon as I get back.
Max: Get back? Where are you going?
Drake: I’m headed out to Bakersfield.
Max: To see Jenny?
Drake: Yeah. It’s been a while and I think I just need to get off the beach for a couple days.
Max: You sure now is a good time?
Drake: I think it’s the perfect time. I’m gonna ask her and Phyllis to come back with me. To be at ringside if I win.
Max: Phyllis? You’re fucking kidding me right?
Drake: She was my father’s wife, Maxy. She’s the only mother I’ve ever known.
Max: Look, D. I’m not gonna tell you what to do. Just be careful. There’s something wrong with that woman.
Drake: I know, but something inside wants her there too. She’ll probably say no anyway.
Max: I’ll be surprised if she even lets you in the house.
[Drake smiles.]
Max: Now grab a drink. Let’s celebrate.
Drake: Sure thing.
[Drake gets up and walks over to the bar as the camera fades out.]
"Kevin Carter. The man who seems to have become my nemesis. My rival. I'm not really sure how it escalated to you hating my guts. I know we had some twitter banter the first time we faced each other. I started by joking around with you and you got super defensive. Which in turn, my competitive side got defensive back. Next thing I know I beat you, one on one in the ring, and you un-follow me on Twitter. That's the kind of guy you are. The sorest loser that I have ever met. I'm not sure how it began for you. I'm not sure if you really did go undefeated for all those years so when you finally did lose it just came as such a shock to you that it must have been corruption. That must have been the only way right? You were unbeatable after all...
I know what you're gonna say about me so I'll save you the trouble. That I'm a phony. That I put an act on in front of everyone and that my ego is way too big to really care about the fans. That I’m a bitch and a hand picked, golden boy, wannabe champion who has been handed this title shot. Sound about right? The sad part is that it's probably gonna take you about an hour of promo time to get that message across. A long winded, boring, diarrhea of the mouth session about why you are so much better than me with what I’m sure will be lots of colorful nuances to try and dress up a pretty boring message. You’ll probably talk about how my victory against you is meaningless because nothing was on the line. But the truth Kevin, the truth is that there was so much on the line in that match. That match proved to the world that the great Kevin Carter is beatable. That he isn't invincible. That no matter what he says or does going forward, he lost. He lost to me. Sure you went on to win the Heavyweight title, even against the greatest stars this company has to offer. But my victory over you opened up the door for people like Goth.
Yeah, that stung didn't it? That sweet victory that you yearned after for so long taken away so quickly. But the hurtful truth of the whole thing is that it wasn't because anyone was gunning for you or working against you and certainly no one was conspiring to take a title away from you. If the powers that be really felt that you never would’ve won in the first place. You're so undeniably full of yourself that you can't even realize the plain and simple truth of the whole thing. You lost. Someone came in and beat you in the ring, just as I did, and guess what? This time something mattered in that match. So what if you had just won the title two weeks prior? MAN UP. This is professional wrestling and that title which you now hold again means more than just being the best in the ring. It's about being a CHAMPION. Something you clearly know nothing about. I may be a bit hypocritical. I can deal with that, I can accept it, and I do embrace it. But you, you are flat out full of shit. You call yourself the ANTI-HERO...that's a sad and complete lie. The only thing you care about in this world is yourself. No one else. Sure I drink profusely and try to bang everything that walks, including but not limited to your fiancé, but I stand for something. I stand for the right to wear that belt. I've earned it both in AND outside of the ring.
No one can deny your ability in the ring Kevin. I wouldn't dare to try. You are, after all, only the second two-time heavyweight champion this company has ever seen. An impressive feat no one can take away from you. But I think we're all in agreement here, it's time to GROW UP. Take defeat like a man and earn the respect from the rest of the locker room. A real hero needs that respect. A real hero, whether anti or not, thrives off that respect. The only person who trudges along and doesn't need nor want it, the only person who claims they are the best yet can't get one vote from his peers, is a HEEL. The same type of tendencies you claim that I some how own, yet I beg of you, ask THEM. Ask your peers in Sin City Wrestling who they would rather have on their side. A man who works hard to please the people paying to see him, even if he has an ego the size of Trinidad, or the CRY BABY who quits the company when he can't win a match. We'll see what the answers are…
So go ahead. Say what you want about me. I don't care if my promo is airing days before yours. Take all you want and use it against me. Talk all the trash you need and tell everyone how you’re gonna break my neck or my back or whatever it is that you think makes you sound cool. It doesn’t matter. You don’t have the one thing you need to beat me ONE ON ONE in a title match. You don’t have any heart."October 2nd, 2013 – Bakersfield, California – 4:45 PM
[The door on the yellow cab slams shut as Drake walks around the car. He is wearing dark jeans, darker boots, and a red and white flannel shirt. His hair is a bit unkempt and greasy and his beard is finally all grown in. He slings the strap of his black duffel bag over his shoulder and leans forward as he pays the driver for his ride. He stands up and as the cab drives away we can see the house standing in front of Drake. A small colonial that is gray in color with blue shudders in front and a long gravel driveway that runs up the hill that the house sits at the bottom. He fixes his bag on his shoulder and starts to head down the hill. The gravel cracks beneath his boots as he walks. He checks his platinum watch, which doesn’t seem to fit his rustic attire, as he makes his way down to the front of the porch. He steps up. His feet knock and creek on the old porch as he makes his way to the front door. As he gets there, he drops his black duffel back at his boots and takes a deep breath, closing his eyes as he exhales.]
Drake: Here we go…
[He speaks to himself as he raises his arm and knocks on the screen door. After a moment, a silver-haired woman comes to the door. She has a white button up shirt on with a smaller leather vest that sits unbuttoned over her shirt. She has blue jeans and dark colored boots on. An unsurprised look comes over her face as she greets her guest.]
Phyllis: You look just like your father.
Drake: Hello, Phyllis.
Phyllis: What are you doing here, Drake?
Drake: Just wanted to say hey.
Phyllis: Yes I suppose you are. Jenny ain’t her ya know. She’s at work.
Drake: You actually got her to work?
[She cracks a small smile and then quickly wipes it away.]
Phyllis: I told her. She wanted to come back here she had to pay rent. Get a job and have some semblance of responsibility in her life.
Drake: Good. That’s good. How about you? You’ve been getting the money I’ve been sending you?
Phyllis: Yeah I got it. And I still got it. Been waiting for a chance to give it back to you.
Drake: Phyllis-
[She cuts him off.]
Phyllis: I don’t want it, Dickey. I know where it comes from and it ain’t welcome around here.
Drake: Where it comes from? Christ, Phyllis…I’m not a drug dealer.
[She stares at him for a second.]
Drake: You gonna let me in or what? I need a drink.
Phyllis: All we got is coffee here. And you’re welcome to as much of it as you like. Come on in.
[She finally steps back and lets Drake inside of the door and in to Phyllis’ home. He drops his bag just inside of the door and walks in through her living room. He takes a long look around the room as it had been years since he had been inside of Phyllis’ home. It seems to be exactly how he remembers it. The long and wide plank floor still has the same rustic look to it. The green couch across from the fireplace is still there with the same thin layer of dust it had on it some years ago. He walks up to the fireplace, and looks at the framed pictures sitting on top of the mantle. One of Jenny, one of Phyllis’ parents. One of Drake’s father with Phyllis on what appears to be their wedding day and then finally, one that sort of surprises Drake. A picture of three siblings; Nick, Drake, and Jenny. All are younger children in the picture, Drake couldn’t have been older than seven.]
Phyllis: I took that picture.
Drake: I don’t remember it.
Phyllis: Your father wanted a picture of the three of yas that he could keep in his locker. He asked me to take one for him. That was it.
Drake: It’s a great picture.
[Drake turns around to Phyllis.]
Drake: How ‘bout that coffee?
[The camera cuts to Drake and Phyllis, sitting at her kitchen table drinking coffee. Her kitchen is very white. With white cabinets and a white appliances, it nearly has a hospital feel to it. The two drink their coffee in near silence before Phyllis finally breaks it.]
Phyllis: How’s that crazy old Maxwell doing?
Drake: Maxy? He’s doing well. He says hello.
Phyllis: No he doesn’t.
[Drake smirks.]
Drake: No…he doesn’t.
Phyllis: You doing ok? Jenny read some stuff on that internet about you being hurt. Something to do with your ribs…
Drake: Yeah, I’m ok.
Phyllis: She looks up to you, ya know? She thinks you’re the world.
Drake: I’m nobody’s world, Phyllis.
Phyllis: Just your own, then.
[Drake sets his coffee cup down on the table.]
Drake: You mind if I take a load off for a bit?
Phyllis: How long you planning on staying, Drake?
Drake: Just til Sunday.
[Phyllis stares at him for a moment and then nods.]
Phyllis: You can take the back bedroom over there.
Drake: Thanks.
[Drake stands up and walks his coffee cup over to the sink. He turns back around to say something but Phyllis cuts him off.]
Phyllis: I don’t want that wrestling talk in my house, Dickey. I mean that. You’re more than welcome to stay but we don’t talk that nonsense here.
Drake: Understood, ma’am.
Phyllis: Good. Make sure you take your boots off before you lay in that bed.
Drake: Yes ma’am.
[Drake turns and walks down the hallway and toward the bedroom. He walks inside and shuts the door behind him. He sits down on the bed, unties his boots and slips them off, and then lays down on the bed. He stares straight up at the cracking white ceiling and then shits his eyes.]
”I don’t know what it is about you Kevin. Half of me really admires you. A lot of what you have, I want. I want to be the Heavyweight Champion. I want to have the free spirit that you possess and be able to tell everyone and anyone to go fuck themselves whenever I want. That’s part of what I envy in you. Everyone has great characteristics. Even pieces of shit like you.
The other half of you is what makes me want to step on your neck. I’m not really a violent guy. Truth be told I probably am a lover more than I am a fighter. But something about you brings out the anger and viciousness in me. Not in a bad way. You are my rival. I really believe that its you and me here. Like Shawn and Bret, Duane and Steve, it’ll one day be Kevin and Drake. Those great rivalries have to start somewhere. Did it start in my ‘meaningless’ victory over you? Or did it start when you bested six of the top superstars in SCW, including me, to win that first SCW Heavyweight Championship? I really don’t know. What I do know? That’s easy. We both want to win this one. I’m not entirely sure it’s just because of that title of yours either. Part of me wants to win this one just to say I beat you when it mattered most. I guess we’ll find out soon enough, right?
Just do me a favor. Don’t quit after I beat you. Don’t throw up a shit storm and complain on twitter and all of that. You’re better than that. When I win I’ll be looking forward to that return match just as much as you, if not more. Because to me, beating you is like winning a whole new Championship. It’s like taking that annoying fly that buzzes around your head on a hot summer night and smacking it down, killing it in the process. I’m going to own you Kevin. Not just in Trinidad but every time you step in to a six-sided SCW ring, I’ll be there. I hope you enjoy your second two week title reign because it’s just about half way over.”[END FEED.]
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