Vertigo returns from commercial break. Standing in the middle of the ring is Chandler Scott. Chandler continues to look down at that mat while he receives cheers and applause from the good fans in Kingston. After motioning for them to settle down with his free hand, he raises the mic with the other hand and starts to speak.
Chandler Scott: John, you ran your mouth at the last show about a lot of things. Chief among them being that I never once considered... what
you wanted.
Chandler scoffs at the notion of taking Carmichael's wants and needs into account.
Chandler Scott: You claimed that I never once thought about what John Carmichael wanted. Well, I think it's plain as day what John Carmichael wants. What John Carmichael wants... is for me to go away. What John Carmichael wants... is for everyone to go along with his fairy tale that he ran me out of town. What John Carmichael wants... is for you acknowledge him as being my superior.
The crowd boos at the idea.
Chandler Scott: As much as I hate to admit it, and I really do hate admitting this, but you
were superior... the last time. You were the better wrestler the last time we faced off in the center of the ring. Were you the better
man, though? That I'm not so sure of, because a better man would have been content with getting the better of me inside the ring. A better man would have been satisfied with the result of him getting his arm raised on one of the biggest shows of the year. But you weren't satisfied with simply winning, now were you? No, you weren't. But let's be honest here. You were never going to settle with just beating me in the ring. No, you wanted to hurt me. You wanted to erase me from FGA's history. You wanted to end me.
The crowd boos Carmichael’s actions at All-Star Showdown IX.
Chandler Scott: And for the longest time, you thought that you did... until I came out here a couple shows back at Vertigo 101.
Cheers and applause are heard over Chandler’s return.
Chandler Scott: Since that time, you've wanted nothing to do with me. You've wanted nothing to do with a match at Grapple Kingdom V or anywhere else, for that matter. And it's because, simply put... you're scared, John.
A beat.
Chandler Scott: Scared of me? No, I actually don't think that you're scared of
me, per se. I think you're scared that you can't replicate that performance again. I think you're scared of the possibility of
you being on the opposite end of that beatdown. So you're not about to put yourself in a position where either of those outcomes could happen. But above all else, you want to know what you
really want? More than anything else? You want to
replace me.
Boos are heard from the red hot crowd in R.I.
Chandler Scott: That's why you're out here stealing my move and nicknaming yourself The Backbone of FGA. You've long since resented me, even going all the way back to the World Title picture of early 2015. A picture that you felt that I had no business being apart of. You want to replace me because you've been envious of me for the longest. There were times throughout our careers here when we were both being booed. But these people never booed you the same way they booed me. There were times when those same fans nearly went hoarse screaming and cheering at the top of their lungs for the both of us. But they never cheered you like they cheered me. You never got the same respect from your peers that I got. You never got the same adulation that I got. Despite you being the model of consistency, you never got the big matches that I got. You want to know why that is? It's because for as good as you were and for as great as you became, I was just that much better more often than not. The office knew it. Our peers in the industry knew it. The fans knew and deep down, you knew it, too.
The crowd cheers.
Chandler Scott: You know why I'm able to come out here and talk cash shit? It's because I've made this company cash money, hand over fist. There was a certain HKW World Champion who came out here, during the season of our biggest show, to challenge yours truly to a match. And while we didn't have the honor of main eventing Night 2 of All-Star Showdown XI - that would've been you and your good pal Izzy - guess what we ultimately had the honor of? Being named the Match of the Goddamn Year.
More cheers are heard from the crowd.
Chandler Scott: Let's go from one Hall of Famer to another, Cordelia Stevenson.
The crowd boos mention of Cordy's name.
Chandler Scott: Yeah, I like her, too. Back when she was ready to hang up the boots in 2017, she had her pick of who she wanted her last ever match to be against. It could have been against anyone. Hell, it could have even been against you. At the time, you were the Undisputed Champion when this company was split between two brands. You were the top guy. You were the man. And yet... she choose me. Let's go to another Hall of Famer. This one from elsewhere. Emilio Vailpando. He wanted his last match to be against me. Let's go to yet another Hall of Famer from elsewhere, Chris Strike. As much as I still don't like him, he was a world-class wrestler that came here for two people. You're looking at one of them and you definitely weren't the other. You want to know why you never got those big matches? You want to know why our peers in this industry never came knocking on FGA's door to test themselves against you? It's because outside of these walls, no one knows who the hell you even are.
“OOOHHHHHH!”
Chandler Scott: Here's some more harsh truths. You want to know why our peers never wanted their last match to be against you? It's because they felt you weren't good enough to have that honor.
“OOOHHHHHH!”
Chandler Scott: For as good as you've been inside this ring, for all the things you've accomplished, you've always been second best. Be it a few years back when Cordy was running things or whether it's right now with The Funky Technician, you've always been the second best wrestler out of
New York.
“OOOHHHHHH!”
Chandler Scott: Hell, you're the second best
Johnny to hold the World Championship.
“OOOHHHHHH!”
Chandler Scott: And when it comes to comparing you and I, well, we all know just how insecure you feel when it comes to me. You were just whining not too long ago about why I and I alone was wrestling on both nights of All-Star Showdown. So here’s another harsh truth for you. You might think that you’re the
Backbone of FGA, but at the end of day, I was the goddamn
Dollars and Cents.
“OOOHHHHHH!”
Chandler Scott: John, for the last three years, you've done nothing put point fingers at everyone else. You've blamed these fans. You even turned your back on the woman that had your back from day one. It was always someone else's fault. Someone else was always the problem. You? You were the aggrieved. You somehow turned having a Hall of Fame class all to yourself into a slight. You've done nothing but walk around here and cast yourself as a victim. Well, John,
when our paths do meet, you won't need to play the victim.
Chandler makes the "come hither" motion with his finger, motioning for the cameraman to zoom in.
Chandler Scott: I'll make you one.
Crowd cheers. Those cheers, however, soon turn to boos as John Carmichael walks out at the top of the ramp, microphone in hand, looking remarkably like somebody who has been asked the time by somebody when he is in the middle of a phone call.
John Carmichael: Before I say anything else, Chandler, I want to thank you…
John Carmichael: …I want to thank you for once again
proving my point, while also demonstrating how little you seem to know or care about anything which happens outside that bubble you insulate yourself within. You see, Chandler, if you bothered to listen to anybody who disagreed with you, you might have noticed what I’ve said all along that what
I want isn’t what goes over your head every single time. No, Chandler, what I have repeatedly said is that you put what
you want over what this entire company wants, needs, or demands. So good job, all of you…
Carmichael gestures to the entire crowd with a wave of his arm
John Carmichael: …because just like that plastic calf standing in the ring right now, you’re proving that you are going to ignore what your eyes and ears are telling you, all because the guy you’re told to cheer when he shows up for a couple of hours work every other year lied to your faces and you just went along with it because you thought that’s what you’re supposed to do. Let me guess: your next trick is to bleat “Four legs good, two legs bad”?
The crowd boo, which only causes Carmichael to shrug and roll his eyes at their response, and when he's done brushing off their ire he raises an accusing finger in Chandler’s direction.
John Carmichael: And you know the worst thing, Chandler? It’s one thing when you dupe a bunch of rubes into believing the drek you come out with, but when I was sitting in the back and overheard what you said when you ran that big yap of yours, something occurred to me: you’re so divorced from reality that you believe it too. Seriously, walking out in front of this crowd and telling them that you;re the “dollars and cents” of this company, even though this company has spent
years doing just fine bringing in nickels, dimes, quarters, bucks, fins, sawbucks, Jacksons, Benjamins without the sight, sound or smell of you on the cards. You want to know how deluded you sound? Okay, let me pose a question to this focus group of yours…
Carmichael pauses to clear his throat, then looks to the side of the ramp once more.
John Carmichael: Would you be cheering so loudly if that so-called hero of yours walked out and told Lowri Moss that he was the “dollars and cents” of this company?
After posing the question to the crowd, Carmichael looks back at Chandler with a remarkably knowing expression - because he knows full well he’s got a damn good point.
John Carmichael: If you paused, for just a second, you might realise that I’m out here spitting truth while you’re the one who is scared, Chandler. How scared? So scared that you don’t even realise that you’re standing in the ring, ranting and raving like the villain that’s been backed against the wall after seeing everything you once had torn away from you until it's just you, all on your own, desperately trying to convince yourself that it isn’t over as your empire lies in tatters all around you. And that's where you are, Chandler, screaming “Say hello to my little friend” and not paying attention to the shotgun being pointed at your back and that fountain with an inspiring slogan is about to become
very ironic
There’s a definite
“Ooooooh…” coming from one section of the crowd at that one, which causes Carmichael to look askance in the general direction the sound is coming from that a section of the crowd thinks it's 1998 or something, at which point he raises a finger not to point accusingly, but to indicate he’s headed towards some kind of point.
John Carmichael: This company makes money without you, get used to it. I know I have, just I know plenty of other people who actually show up every single show have gotten used to it, indeed there’s only one person who hasn’t realised this: you. But here you are, walking out here accusing people of envy, accusing people of jealousy, when the reality is that people are sick and tired of breaking their backs every single week only to see you waltz through the door and act like you own the place. You don't own it, Chandler. If it hasn’t occurred to you, you don't even own your move or even your nickname, because I took them and nobody complained about it until you showed up, two years after the fact, bitching about the fact that I was copying your act. Except I’m not copying your act, am I Chandler? After all, how can I copy your act without the smug sense of entitlement that this company gets infected with every time you deign to appear? If you want to accuse somebody of that, start with that Bisley guy in the midcard
Once again there’s an audible
“Ooooohhhhhhhhh!” from the crowd at that last remark, although this time Carmichael seems to be caught off guard and cracks a smile at that response and needs a moment to compose himself once more.
John Carmichael: But, I couldn't help notice that something was buried deep in that huge pile of crap you just dumped in the middle of Wherever The Hell In Rhode Island We Are,
very deep in that pile, was something else. A threat. Not a particularly veiled one, which isn't like you and your habit of talking out of the corner of your mouth. So rather than beat around the bush, why not stop insulting the intelligence of those of us with an attention span and spit it out, so I can dump you out of this company a second time and notice those dollars and cents continue rolling in regardless?
Chandler Scott: First off, I said that I
was the dollars and the cents, not that I currently
am. But we all know you only hear what you want to hear, John. Despite what you think, I haven’t been beating around the bush. As a matter of fact, I’ve laid out exactly what I wanted. But you’ve been avoiding a match with me, just like you’ve been avoiding taking accountability. You say that people are sick and tired of me? No, John, the only thing that people are sick and tired of is you and your crybaby bullshit.
There’s another “OOOOOOOH!” that comes from the crowd. Chandler continues to stare daggers at Carmichael. He can be seen sarcastically mouthing “seek help” before continuing.
Chandler Scott: So let me lay this out one more time. You want me to be the one to ask for it? You want me to “lower myself” and ask you for the match? Fine, it makes no difference to me. I say we finish this, once and for all. You verse me… Grapple Kingdom V. We’ve both been two of the select few that have made history in FGA. So let’s do it again… for the very first time in FGA history…
Three…
Stages of
HELL!
The match proposal elicits a monster pop. “YES!” chants break out from every pocket of the crowd. The capacity crowd continues to cheer and clap over the announcement. The ball is now in Carmichael’s court.
Chandler Scott: Do you see me shaking like a leaf?
There’s a loud “NO!” from the crowd.
Chandler Scott: Do you hear my voice trembling?
The crowd responds with another loud “NO!”
Chandler Scott: Do you see piss running down my leg?
The crowd shouts “NO!”
Chandler Scott: You want to know why you don’t? It’s because, despite what you may think, I’m not afraid of you, John. Never have been, never will be.
Applause follows.
Chandler Scott: You want to know another reason why you don’t? It’s because I have the utmost confidence that I still have what it takes, deep down, to beat you. Will it be easy? Hell no. Beating you has never been easy. But I will. And for the first time in a long time, every head will bow…
The crowd cheers, knowing what’s coming next.
Chandler Scott: … and everything tongue will confess…
The cheers grow even louder as the crowd can’t wait to join in with Chandler on his catchphrase.
Chandler Scott: … that Cha-
John Carmichael: …that
John Carmichael was the better man, like he always was and always will be
The crowd boo at the interruption, which only serves to amuse Carmichael, and once more he looks to the side to address them.
John Carmichael: I don’t know why you’re having any issue with that comment, because the last time I checked a
man shows up every week no matter if their last match was a success or a failure, no matter how many lumps they took, and no matter how many people are threatening to knock them off their perch. For instance…
The second that Carmichael says those last two words he begins walking towards the ring, still talking as he goes, and he’s going at some pace too.
John Carmichael: …when somebody beats a guy so bad they leave the company for two years, a
man at least has the courtesy to admit they got beat so bad that they hid under a rock, rather than come back with the exact same “love me” spiel we’ve heard several dozen times. When somebody walks into somebody’s backyard, a
man realises that playing the hits to a crowd made up of people who will support the other guy because they have something in common isn’t going to work and tries to change things up a bit. But more than anything else…
By this point Carmichael has not only reached ringside but has climbed the steps and is stood on the ring apron, and only pauses as he’s stepping through the ropes.
John Carmichael: …a
man realises they don’t get to make demands of the guy who beat him so badly that he hid under a rock until his ego dragged him back out to plaster a fake smile on their face and run through the same old comments for the thousandth time, a
man realsies that he has to
beg because there’s nothing you have to offer, Chandler, because all I have to do is say to your face that I beat you and everything you say is all for naught, because you do not have a single way you can come back from that without sounding like a deluded shell of a wrestler who can’t accept that their time has gone and everybody else seems to be fine with that face. And yet here you are, demanding to face me in not just the one fall, but over three. Is that really what you want, Chandler?
Carmichael looks at Chandler, almost as if he is expecting an answer - yet he doesn't really give a moment for one.
John Carmichael: No, Chandler, you need to
think: is that really what you want? Do you want your legacy to be how you said you wanted to do something hard, you went out of your way to ask for the hardest test of your career, only to fail miserably? Because that’s what you’re at risk of putting yourself through, Chandler, and that’s before taking into account what I’m not only willing to put you through, but have shown that I am willing to put you through in the hope that either you or your dwindling numbers of fanboys, hangers-on and office sycophants take the hint and allow this company to
live. Because if you want your legacy to be the guy who demanded a Three Stages of Hell match, not only do I accept your challenge, but I also have something to add…
Without so much as a beat, Carmichael wallops Chandler with one hell of a hard slap to the face, which echoes through the arena when it makes contact.
John Carmichael: You won’t even make it to the third stage
With that, Chandler turns and takes a wild swing at Carmichael. Carmichael easily ducks the strikes and tackles Chandler down. He quickly mounts on top of Chandler and starts raining down right hands. Chandler tries to cover up before turning over on top of Carmichael. Chandler stars to throw wild rights and lefts of his own, most of which miss. The cheers then turn to boos as Carmichael rolls back on top of Chandler and darts firing off strikes. The boos grow even louder as the referee court, along with FGA Officials, rush the ring.
“LET THEM FIGHT!”
“LET THEM FIGHT!”
“LET THEM FIGHT!”
“LET THEM FIGHT!”
The “let them fight” chants continue throughout the arena as both grapplers have to be physically pulled apart. Chandler and Carmichael can be seen reaching out and clawing at the other as they eventually get muscles back into opposing corners. Once Chandler is back to his feet, he performs a swim move around one of the officials before running across the ring, leaping over and diving onto Carmichael. The crowd goes wild as he tries his best to hit Camrichael with strikes. The boo birds come back out again once he gets pulled from behind. With distance now between the two, Carmichael motions to exit the ring per the officials request… before stepping back in, breaking through the officials around him and tackling Chandler and the surrounding officials down again. Both grapplers continue to roll on top of each other until Chandler is dragged out of the ring while Carmichael has to be restrained inside.
The production production truck puts up a split screen with Carmichael inside the ring of the left and Chandler on the outside on the right. Both men can be seen mouthing all kinds of threats towards each other as Vertigo goes off the air…
