*Just prior to Precision’s main event, a video starts playing on the titantron which sends the crowd crazy with cheering. The Precision Champion, Jack Rogue, fills the screen, his title draped over his legs as he sits on the bench in his locker room, surrounded by familiar whitewashed walls. While his fans in the crowd are jubilant, Rogue is less so, as he appears nervous at what he is about to undertake*
Jack: Tonight, I will face Ivy Hale in a Buried Alive match.
*Jack pauses after that, sighing tensely and bowing his head*
Jack: In some ways, the true implications of what I’m about to do haven’t yet sunk in. I could - potentially, depending on what happens after the match if I lose – I could die tonight. The darkness, crushing and terrifying, the vast weight of the earth pressing down, crushing my body, cutting off my breathing, squashing the life from my body. The sound of your undying support… fading, fading, fading, your voices being sucked away by the dark, dark soil. It doesn’t matter that tonight, theoretically, isn’t a championship match. I can’t hold a title if I’m dead, or even so severely injured that I can’t wrestle ever again.
Jack: But y’know what? I’ve never been in a better position to take on a challenge like this one. I am in the undisputed form of my life. I haven’t lost a match… *Jack pauses, then knocks quickly on the bench on which he sits* …since the Iron Man match I had with Jordan Bull, back at Viewer’s Choice. Since then, I’ve won five matches in a row. Jordan in a ladder match, a triple threat against Mike Thunder and Reese Glover, winning this championship at Bad Blood against Andersen Vega,
another triple threat against Joseph Diamond and Buster Gates – both champions – and last week against Alice Xander. That reads like a who’s who of Precision in recent months. Right now, thanks to all your support, my therapy and a lot of hard training, I am the man to beat in this company. Five wins isn’t an unbelievable number when you look across all of pro wrestling, all of sports, but for me? For the guy who went 0-12 from his debut in Sony Storm? That is evidence that I’m in the prime of my career so far. Months and months I spent harking on about this fabled moment when “everything would click”. Bad Blood was that moment. This title is the representation of that change into the wrestler I always knew I could be. But tonight isn’t about being a wrestler.
Jack: Tonight I’m in a fight – a fight to the death, essentially – with a psychopath. A psychopath with a vendetta and not a moral or scruple to her name. And under these rules, with no disqualifications and a mission to get someone else in a hole for long enough to bury them alive, I’m fighting with a handicap. Because I have to keep my sanity, my restraint, my dignity, and if I don’t then I lose an even more important battle. My duty, to all of you as a role model and someone whose cheque you all pay, and to Precision as its champion and a man who has wronged the whole promotion, is that important to me. I would rather be buried alive than surrender my integrity to preserve my body. This battle of wills, of morals, of principle, is more important than me. It is representative of a far greater struggle. And I’d rather be a martyr for my side of that battle than betray my allegiance again. To give in would be to let her win.
Jack: But just because I’m not going to surrender to the sickening urges fighting for my attention, to give in to my insanity, doesn’t mean I’m not going to fight. Let it be clear: I will do whatever I need to do to get Ivy Hale into that grave and bury her alive. The how, not the what, is the important thing. I can’t break a rule tonight no matter how hard I try. What matters is that I don’t give in to that crazed style, and that I don’t psychologically break again, losing my morals and principles during the match. The rules let me use weapons and I will, for damn sure. Last week Hale sucker punched me; she misted my eyes and beat me to the edge of consciousness with a shovel. And tonight, she can do that again, and more if she pleases. It has been said before that any no disqualification match, especially one like this, will be won by the more vicious competitor, the one willing to cross more lines to inflict pain. I refuse to let that be true tonight. I have come here tonight ready, prepared mentally and physically for whatever she throws at me. I will outsmart and outlast her. And, with your help, I will not lie there, six feet beneath her, to be submerged by spadefuls of soil.
Jack: While Ivy Hale exists in Precision, neither me, nor my title reign, nor Precision are safe. I cannot allow her to continue to roam unchecked, it’s too dangerous. That’s why I have to accept this challenge, to get rid of her for good. It isn’t her fault that she’s like she is - it’s a result of her life. If she survives, and I hope she will, she’ll be in a better position to get the help she needs. There are always people who understand, who can help make your life better, no matter how hard it gets. She could live a great life…
*Jack shakes his head and stands up, draping his championship over his shoulder and attempting to shake the tension from his body*
Jack: …but that’s not my worry right now. For whatever reason, Ivy took months of my career from me, manipulated me and used me for her own gain, and to try and destroy this place. To ensure she can’t do that anymore, and to leave me free to try and right both our wrongs… Ivy Hale is about to be buried alive.
*Rogue nods to the cameraman and leaves the frame as Ivy Hale’s music hits, and Saturday Night Precision cuts back to ringside for its main event*
-End of segment-
