Part 1 - Physical Distractions, Clandestine Meetings & Small Town Girls…AKA Why Mark Cross Finally Agreed To Blast From The Past Again.
Excerpts from the documentary series “Duffy Defiance” - Official Release Date <<REDACTED PENDING LEGAL ACTION>>
From what started out as little more than a film club project, a play at earning extra credit, with the added advantage of being able to hang around one of our favourite hobbies during school hours, came an unexpected tale of rivalry, family disagreement, scandal and debauchery. Of course, this wasn’t wholly unexpected, since it was a big reason why “Beyond the Mat” is still such an iconic work over two decades later, and while this may not be “Wrestlers” and while we may not have even a fraction of the budget of Netflix, the action is no less gritty, and the stories no less real.
Based out of Duffy, Georgia…Duffy Wrestling League has been a passion project for the Spade family for three generations and counting. Originally created by former wrestler and Georgia resident Tom Spade, the company is now in the hands of his son Jack, who's still a regular member of the roster, alongside a son of his own, Shane. As well as their arena, The Dome, in the namesake town of Duffy, the show goes out on the road multiple times per month, expanding their reach across the wider US.
When we began shooting, there was a buzz about the place. A number of new names had joined the roster, one of which boasted a history far more decorated than the Duffy fans were normally used to seeing. A man with extensive independent wrestling experience under his belt, Mark “The Dragon” Cross.
Jack: So Mark called me directly, said he was looking for a new project. Now guys like Cross don't come around every day, and when they do, they’re usually hooked on drugs, or painkillers, and looking for a place that’s a little lax on their narcotic policy, if you know what I mean. For a start, he's first generation, he wasn't born into this like a lot of the roster. Plus, he's worked in front of crowds our guys have only dreamt about, regularly. Now I've always been sceptical about established stars who won't sign exclusive deals…felt like he could treat us like a stepping stone, or a rehab centre…but I talked to a few guys I knew who vouched, and said that wasn't his style. I couldn't really say no.
The Dragon: So I had to admit, I was going through a bit of a mid-life crisis, looking for an escape of sorts. I wanted to keep my hand in, stay active in the ring, I wasn’t done by any means but I was craving somewhere a little more low-key, away from the noise. That would have been great and all, had I not walked into Hadley FUCKING Wyatt on my first FUCKING day.
// ==== \\
Now in her second year of full-time competition, Hadley Wyatt had gotten herself off to a hot start, capturing the Tag Team titles alongside her new partner, inside and outside of the ring.
Hadley: Yeah, Mark and I didn't leave on the best terms, to say the least. He used to call me the hurricane, for how many things got fucked up with me around. He said it like he was joking, although I knew there was some truth behind it…I mean…an ex boyfriend of mine stormed the gym, started shooting at Mark and all, that was a whole thing, so I guess I kinda see his point…
The Dragon: Hadley was a student of mine. She didn't have the most natural ability…didn't have the money to pay for her training…had a lot of baggage outside of the ring…exactly the kind of person we wanted for the Dragon’s Lair. I opened my first gym in New Orleans after Katrina, where I was working at the time. We started letting local kids train for free. Sure, we wanted to produce great talent, but I wanted a way to give back to the community as a whole, not just to the wrestling business. Plus…we were dating for a while…so…yeah…
Hadley: I mean…I had a poster of Mark on my wall, he was the reason I wanted to get into wrestling…and I guess he’s the reason I am wrestling now, too…really awkward when he came to my place for the first time by the way, but he treated me the same as anyone else to begin with. He was hands-on with all of us, not afraid to hop in the ring and work with anyone, even if they were brand new. It was only when we went to work that show…
The Dragon: I got a call from one of my buddies, he needed a mixed tag team that night, in a pinch. A lot of the Miami recruits at that time were either too green, or already working solid gigs, already booked, maybe already out of town. Hadley…to be honest…was green too, but I figured if I was working out there with her? I could carry if I had to, y’know?
Hadley: He told me to pack my gear, we bundled in the car, and drove the 5 hours to Orlando, had a lot of time to talk, get to know each other. That was the night I made my debut, hearing the fans chant my name, watching one of…essentially one of my heroes working right there in front of me. The adrenaline was off the charts, I couldn’t contain my excitement. I thought he’d be all chill and all, just another day at the office. That was, until he kissed me, after the show…and then we pushed the beds together in our trashy motel and umm…we were more than teacher and student after that point.
Jason: Hadley dated HIM? Seriously?
Reece: Don't worry big brother, you're definitely an upgrade.
// ==== \\
It was inevitable that there would be a crossing of paths. Hadley’s new boyfriend was none other than “The Unrated One” Jason Copeland, self-proclaimed leader of the locker room, as well as the holder of the DWL World and Tag Team championships. Jason and his younger sister Reece, a country singer with growing popularity, have a famous wrestling parent in Adam Copeland, otherwise known as Edge, of WWE, and now more recently AEW fame.
Jason: I didn't trust Cross, at first. We were already blindsided by the invasion of a rival brand, Florida Wrestling Dystopia, and here was this guy, who lives in Florida, proclaims his love for Florida at any given opportunity, claiming he’d been bought in to clean up ‘the Florida problem’. I didn’t buy it. Real double agent stuff.
Reece: I told him he needed to show my brother, and my family a little more respect.
The Dragon: Jason. Yeah. I’ve always had a problem with those ‘alpha’ mentality guys. The ones that strut around, pounding their chests, calling it THEIR locker room because they’ve got the World title. I probably would have let it go, but it was that one comment. MY locker room. Thing was, his guys, if he wants to call them that? Were getting their asses handed to them in backstage beatings. It was my first task, after I inked my deal. Keep the Dystopia guys in check.
As one of several recent acquisitions, DWL purchased the rights and assets to Florida Wrestling Dystopia, adding the roster into the existing stable of workers under the Duffy brand. Still determined to maintain their own identity, a splinter group of former FWD stars began causing disruption in the locker room, interfering in matches, staging assaults of talent, backstage and even at their home addresses. Led by the FWD World Champion, “The Anti-Hero” Braddock, the divide continued to grow.
Braddock: Yeah, I know Cross. Watched him get smoked in round one of the Cannabis Cup.
The Dragon: Did he use the smoked line with you too? Yup…thought so…
Braddock: Yeah I’ll admit it, the guy can be dangerous, but he wasn’t prepared to get the job done by any means necessary, not like we were, he was all about playing by the rules. I kept telling him, a win’s a win, even if we had to stack the deck to get it, but he was too prim and proper to accept that.
The Dragon: Yeah, Braddock. He’s…never really had the athleticism to be a Main Event guy…is probably the most polite way to put it, but he’s living proof that taking a hell of a lot of punishment can be effective at times. That’s also not good for your brain cells, I figure, which explains why he seems a few sandwiches short of a picnic…trying to reason with him was like screaming into the void, except less therapeutic…
Hadley: We couldn’t finish a match without someone running in, or someone being attacked…it was crazy…
Jack: They were becoming a problem.
Jason: I had to take Braddock out.
Jack: Then they got to Shane.
// ==== \\
As a third generation Spade, and his father Jack a pivotal part of the company in and out of the ring, it was maybe no surprise that Shane Spade felt he was living in the shadows when it came to DWL. Tensions finally erupted, with Shane turning on his DWL teammates in a six-man tag match, switching allegiances to FWD in the process. Assisted by his new stablemates, he went on to capture, and then defend the DWL Heritage Championship.
Meanwhile, after a string of victories of his own, this time without assistance, “The Dragon” found himself capturing the FWD Panhandle championship from Rooster Robbins.
The Dragon: It was, without doubt, the ugliest fucking title belt I’ve ever seen, or held. Plus, I don’t know what they were doing with that thing out in Florida, but it took hours to polish the grime off it. Dirty bastards.
Shane: It definitely needed a redesign. I’d seen the sketches, but they weren’t going to commission anything until it was back in FWD hands. That’s where I came in.
The next DWL Pay-Per-View was set for a show in Washington, DC. Amongst the matches booked were two title unifications. Braddock vs Copeland, for the FWD/DWL World titles, and Cross vs Spade, for the Panhandle and Heritage championships combined.
Shane: I’d been in the dark for too long. Dad thought I wasn’t ready. Dad was wrong. If he wasn’t going to give me the chance to prove it, I was going to take it.
Jack: I thought Mark would be able to bring him down a peg or two.
The Dragon: Shane was a puppet. FWD would use him as a pawn until he wasn’t useful anymore. Chances are, that would have come after I walked away that night with both titles. He cheated to win his belt. He cheated to defend it, this legacy he wanted to build? He was setting it up to be paper-thin, at best. It was worthless, unless he did it under his own power. I implored him to come out and face me, one-on-one.
Shane: I looked Braddock right in the eyes, told him I got this. I guess he believed me.
The Dragon: Maybe I had an eye on the schmoz, the brass knuckles out of the trunks, or the FWD run-in-
Shane: Cross and I went at it for over half an hour. Toughest match of my career, no doubt in my mind.
The Dragon: The kid was tough. I watched him in training, at the shows, he had glimpses of potential, clearly had a lot of talent, but usually guys like that, I can break their resolve. Shane was different, that night, I just couldn’t put him away.
Shane: After I don’t know how many attempts, he just didn’t kick out anymore. I was a double champion.
Jack: It looked like I was going to have to do my own dirty work, after all.
Hadley: How the fuck did he lose?
Jason: My opinion of Cross changed, a lot. He proved he was willing to give up everything for our cause. Every time he went out there, he gave it everything. He also shouldn’t have lost that match, Shane isn’t on his level. Not night in, night out, anyway.
Reece: Yeah, he was alright, I guess. He grew on me.
The Dragon: I think I proved a lot of people wrong out here. I don’t think the smaller promotions expect the big-ticket stars to be out building rings, manning the merchandise table, getting in early to hang out with fans in the parking lot, signing autographs, that kind of thing. Wrestling in front of fifty, sixty thousand people…I mean when they’re on your side? Feels like your hair is never going to stop standing on end…but honestly, as long as there’s one or two people chanting my name? I still get that rush, you know? It lights that fire in me. I still crave being out there. It’s why I knew I wasn’t ready to retire.
Producer: Why couldn’t you get it done against Shane?
The Dragon: He was the better guy on the night, what more do you want from me? I asked him to come out and face me, one-on-one, no interference, no distractions. He did that. I don’t enjoy loss. It’s valuable, sure, you learn more from one loss than you do from ten victories out there…and it’s a bitter pill to swallow, always, in any circumstances, but it’s just about palatable if someone brings their best stuff. He turned up with his A-game, maybe I didn’t, it was enough. It happens, even to me.
Producer: You’ve had a very successful career off the back of that NOT happening to you. Is that all it was? Nothing more?
The Dragon: Well…I’ve heard the whispers…it’s been said I've been distracted lately…
// ==== \\
As Mark speaks, we cut away from the scene. We are taken to a recent house show, and to Jason Copeland, bursting through the curtain to his entrance music, DWL World Championship on the line.
Producer: I heard you were distracted by Hadley Wyatt…
The scene cuts again to the backstage area. Mark and Hadley can be seen walking, fingers intertwined, both of them chuckling away to each other, glancing around constantly, as if making sure they’re alone.
The Dragon: Who told you that?
Mark slips behind Hadley, wrapping an arm around her waist. As he buries his face into her neck, kissing it playfully, she bursts into laughter, until she tries to bite her lip to stifle it.
Producer: Nobody needed to. We have it on film.
The pair reach a store cupboard door, which they both make their way into. As the camera pans around, Hadley has her back to the wall, Mark’s frame pinning her in position, his hand coming up, brushing hair out of her face, their bright beaming smiles undeniable in the dim light.
The Dragon: You-
After a moment of smouldering intensity, the spark is undeniable, Mark closes the distance between them until their lips crash, kissing each other desperately, both of them reaching out to try and close the door completely.
Producer: It's going in the documentary.
The Dragon: You motherf-
Producer: Lucky for you, we couldn’t use the shower scene, you two were really going at-
The Dragon: Aren’t you in fucking HIGH SCHOOL?
Producer: No swearing, please. Now, about the distrac-
The Dragon: I’m getting a phone call. Mind if I take this?
Producer: Uhh, sure.
The phone was already in his hand, regardless of what we said. Seemed pretty important.
The Dragon: I’ll only be a minute. Christian! How’s it going? Blast From The Past? That thing I’d never do again? Sure! I’d love to!
// ==== \\
Sitting across from each other from the big desk in the office area of the DWL Arena, Mark Cross and Jack Spade sit discussing their next move.
Jack: We're not tying you down here, you could always keep it open, come back when your schedule-
The Dragon: Nah, sorry Jack. Blast from the Past is going to have me tied up until the summer. I don't want to be skipping out East and West all the time, I haven’t exactly given you my best work lately anyway. and that’s without a travel schedule on top…
Jack: This isn't about Hadley is it?
The Dragon: No, it's-
Jack: If I knew you two had a history…
The Dragon: Jack, honestly…things are good between us. No bad blood. Look…we’ve talked about this, right? I’ve got the chance to push for a Hall of Fame spot in a place that means a hell of a lot to me. I’m putting my career first here.
Jack: Just like all the others, huh? Cut and run when you get a b-
The Dragon: Ambitious? IKs that what you mean? You don’t get a resume like mine if you never step foot outside of Duffy, Georgia, Jack, maybe you should try it sometime.
Jack: OK we’re done here.
The Dragon: Suited you just fine when you jacked up the ticket prices ten bucks after you announced me.
Jack: Get…the fuck…out.
The Dragon: Gladly.
With the scraping of wood, then the thud of a tipping chair slamming against the office floor, Mark “The Dragon” Cross begins to storm himself out of The Dome and potentially, out of Duffy, Georgia for good.
The Dragon: Oh…and can that FUCKING documentary, or you’ll be hearing from my lawyers!
Jack: Go fuck yourself, Cross.
The Dragon: Love to see you DIG yourself out of this one Spade! HA!
Jack: Jumped up British asshole…
Part 2 - Al Fresco
The scene opens to a palm-tree lined street in Miami, Florida. A red Aston Martin DBS Volante is parked in the centre of the screen, outside of a building signposted as “Slaughter & May Legal Services”. A few moments later, dressed in Ray Bans, Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts, Mark “The Dragon” Cross appears.
I swear, I’ve needed a lawyer more times in the last month than I have in two decades in professional sport…
Evidently, the car belongs to him, as he opens the door and climbs inside.
The only thing more bullshit is how hot these leather seats are going to b-OW FUCK!
The camera shifts to the dashboard, watching Mark as he starts the engine and begins to drive away.
Now that documentary…it never actually explained why Hadley and I broke up. When she got her first development deal, she asked me to go with her. I talked to management, they wanted me, would have fucking killed to get me there, honestly…in any capacity, any capacity at all, except as a wrestler. They didn’t want me in the ring…and while I’d love to be at the announce table one day, I was in such a purple patch, Sin City, WGWF, Japan, I didn't want to be anywhere but hunting more World titles.
I loved her, I really…genuinely did…and I think if we weren’t both in this business, we might have gotten married, had a couple of kids, lived the American dream, y’know? The thing about love though, is you always want what’s best for a person, even if that means it’s not with you. I didn’t want to stand in the way of her dream, and she…well she couldn’t stand in the way of mine. If Hadley couldn’t? Well…I’m struggling to think of anyone that could.
I had to admit, was sneaking around behind the poor locker room leader’s back fun? Hell yeah! It was a throwback to the times back in the gym, where we were torn between wanting to fuck like rabbits and needing to hide our relationship from the world…but I was forty last birthday. I can’t be running around acting like a horny teenager. I needed to get back to business, and the call came at just the right time.
It’s funny how things turn out, sometimes. I didn’t plan on coming back, not to Blast from the Past, potentially not to Sin City again. Not after the once great Mac Bane, who needed a performance level we hadn’t seen from him in a decade or more to wrest the World Title from my hands, reduced to needing his sister to lay down for the indefatigable Mikah, just a short while later. Mac was never the same after that, coming up against me was the beginning of the end of his career, the last embers of a dying division, one that stopped looking like an attractive prospect. I’ve paid my dues in this business after all. If I’m going to step into someone’s Main Event picture? It’ll be to re-define a division, not to revive it.
Now, I may have fallen into Blast from the Past again by a cruel twist of fate…but make no mistake, I feel very differently about it now. My time in Sin City? Whole lot of victories, whole lot of accolades, and I come back planning to build on my legacy, not whittle it away on some farewell tour. I’m ready to work, and in a draw with the likes of Sean Parker…Peter Vaughn…a completely different animal in Alexander Raven, compared to the one I’ve beaten in that very ring…I knew I had to come back ready to work, and trust me, I am.
Plus, there is that one, quite large elephant in the room. I’ve won this thing twice already. Would it be wise to bet against me?
As Mark looks into the lens, the cradle holding his phone shakes loose, sending the whole scene into a spiral.
Oh motherf-
A hand starts to grapple with the device as the sound of a horn can be heard, getting ever closer.
Fuuuuuuck me!
HEY LEARN TO DRIVE MAN!
With another moment of panic, the phone is eventually returned to position, albeit with Mark’s visage at a slight side-angle.
Well…that was more dramatic than planned…but we move to the task at hand, and to Aiden Reynolds. Now, I don’t know who decided to take a stereotypical Aussie, a stereotypical wannabe upstart wrestler, and mash them together, but they did, it’s this guy…and I might suggest changing the recipe. Coming out cliche can get real old, real fast, and this isn’t the kind of business where stating the obvious can get you by, you know?
“I’m athletic and strong and don’t give up”, copyright Aiden, 2024. Wow. In a sea full of professional athletes, and you’re athletic. In a combat sport, you’re strong and you don’t give up. Okay. Please tell me…MATE…how that sets you apart from every single person in the building? Congratulations on being every single person who’s ever walked away from a wrestling show in profit. It’s kind of a prerequisite for the job, you know, and while that base level may get it done against Justin Smith? Trust me, you’re not winning any points with me on that one. Let me tell you why.
You want to become the first Aussie in the Hall of Fame, right? You want to capture the Roulette and the Internet and maybe the World title one day, am I understanding that right? You reeled off that cute little wishlist before you faced Ben. Well let me give you some things that might make you quake in your Ugg boots. I’ve already held the World championship. I’ve won this tournament twice already. I was one of the longest reigning Underground champions in SCU history. That Hall of Fame you mentioned? I can tell you a lot about it, because I’ve already got my foot in the door, pal. It’s an inevitability. I’ll probably get inducted before you capture your first Roulette title in a Vegemite sandwich eating stipulation match.
You know what, I’ll give you some credit. I don’t doubt you’ll get there, one day, but I’m a whole lot of steps ahead of you. I’m standing where you *want* to be, and aspirations are great and all, but you’re not here. You’re way way way back there, telling us about all the things you claim you’ve achieved, all the while you’re pining for a spot on the first rung of the ladder here, like you don’t know what that tastes like. I don’t know where you ‘kicked the shit’ in Japan, but if your little girlfriend gives you props for ‘not going to Japan for the fame and fortune like everyone does’ then it’s probably not my kind of place. Nobody goes to Japan for fame and fortune, not one bit. People go to Japan to beat the shit out of, and beat the shit out of others in the ancient art of toughening each other up. Learning how to be resilient, to not give up when little pretenders like you, do.
I’ve done the Japan thing. Capacity crowd, Tokyo Dome, 60,000 people…and let me tell you…there is no single tougher audience than you’ll see anywhere else in the world, with the exception of maybe Mexico. It’s a religion. You learn that in your first week. You experience that on your first night.
You talk as if you know that world…yet it’s the same one that made me, that forged me, that put me on that pedestal you’re so openly looking up to. Tell me you’re not ready to operate at my level, Aiden, without telling me. Prime example right there.
I see what you’re doing, of course. You talk of hard work, you talk about earning your way from the bottom of the pyramid, but Finn Whelan just happens to be around to help you with your camera work, huh? No context given as to why you have business with him, and vice versa by the way, so maybe…hope you’re taking notes, give us some context next time, yeah? You keep talking up all these names that used to be around…that used to be relevant…how you don’t want to ‘talk down a star’ like Jordan so your win means something? You talk a good game and all, but I see right through what you’re doing.
You’re name dropping. You’re coat-tail riding. You’re buttering up, hoping someone who was relevant around here once is going to put in a good word for you.
They keep people like me around to make sure things stay honest. To make you fucking earn it.
Here’s a suggestion, Aiden. Broaden. Your. Horizons. The names you reeled off…Alex Jones…played hot potato with every title he ever held…Austin James Mercer…who tried to claim he’d been overtraining as I dispatched of him like he was nothing, as if he didn’t know better, nothing but washed up…Fenris…when guys started to figure out he’s a ground and pounder masquerading as a wrestler, exposed, not so scary…and then your little man crush, Ben Jordan…working through some kind of a dip in form…open your fucking eyes for a second.
They’re not relevant anymore.
They’re ghosts of the past.
They had their time in the sun, shadows of a time when they were in their prime.
There are very few who stay evergreen, and they’re the ones who blend into the canopy. You haven’t looked at real danger, that’s your problem. You see it’s been a long time since anyone gave a fuck about seeing AJ or AJM opposite them on a card, years in fact. They don’t instil that fear anymore. Even Mac Bane, who you also name-dropped, I remember. Well…he never really came out the same after going to war with me. I did knee him real hard in the face a couple of times, so that might have something to do with it, but beware that one name you didn’t mention.
I haven’t lost a step, like those guys have.
My hunger hasn’t been satiated.
My edge is still razor sharp.
I said at the start of this thing, that I came in ready to work, and I meant it. I haven’t been working here, but I have been working, night in and night out. My alarm still goes off at 6am every morning, and I still go to the gym. Without fail. I still eat like an athlete, train like an athlete, I still have that uncanny ability to change the whole complexion of a match in one, two manouvres, and best of all, when that bell rings? I’m still hell-bent on putting down whatever’s in front of me. I won’t stop. Not until they stop kicking out.
The scenery moving past begins to slow, eventually coming to a complete stop.
They say you can never win Blast from the Past by yourself of course…and I have to agree. Now, I don’t have time to really go into all that right now, I’ve got a lunch reservation at my favourite restaurant, Ariete in Coconut Grove, hashtag not sponsored, but I will say this…I do have faith in Eiley. Like her or not, she’s had the tutelage of one of the winningest Bombshells in Sin City Wrestling history…plus she’s only out for herself…and I can use that.
I can work with someone who’ll tag me in when I have the edge on my opponent, because they know it’ll benefit them in the long run. I can partner with someone that recognises pairing with a two-time winner is a real boon for them, and knows when getting out of the way works in her favour.
She may be pretty new to this, but so was Ruby. It didn’t stop us going all the way, and you know what? If Eiley has the advantage over Melissa? Well…I’ll enjoy hanging back and watching her go to work, see if Mikah’s half the trainer as she is a competitor.
I will win this thing again. I will do what nobody has ever done before.
Hey, you know what, maybe then Aiden might name drop ME instead. Then I’ll really know I’ve made it big…
The End…
