Magness Arena
Denver, Colorado
June 27th 2021
Skrabal walks unsteadily on his feet as he enters the backstage area hunched over and holding his right hand to the back of his neck.
"Where the fuck Ohio at?" He asks with anger in his voice and a dazed look on his face as a team of officials and medics approach him.
"Skrabal, we need you to come with us." A member of the backstage team tells him.
"Nah fuck that, tell me where Ohio at." Skrabal replies, eager for revenge.
"We don't know. But you need to..." The staff member is cut off midsentance as Skrabal interrupts him.
"Then where the fuck Leah at then?" Skrabal demands to know through gritted teeth.
"Skrabal, the most important thing right now is for you to come with us." The staff member tells Skrabal firmly while gesturing towards the open medical room where a doctor stands waiting.
"Nah fuck that, I ain't need no doctor fam. I need to find Ohio or Leah innit, shit anyone'll do blad, where the bossman at? Where Mosh at? Where Mad Dog at? Somebody 'bout to get it fam and I ain't care who it be."
Medics and MHW officials stand all around Skrabal, gently trying to guide him towards the medical room and preventing him from going in search of a fight.
"Get the fuck away from me, I said I ain't need no doctor." Skrabal pushes a few of the officials away then instantly grabs the back of his neck again while wincing in pain.
With the crowd of people now backing away from him Skrabal heads towards his locker room, his right hand on the back of his neck and his left hand using the wall for support as he walks.
Skrabal's Motel RoomDenver, Colorado
June 30th 2021
11:40AM
Skrabal walks stiffly across the cramped room of his rundown, rented accommodation, his sore body still bearing the effects of being chokeslammed through the commentary table by Gabriel Ohio. Just as he reaches his phone it stops ringing, he bends down slowly to pick it up then carefully sits down on to the brown sofa. Looking at the screen of his phone he sees that the missed call was from his friend and fellow Toll Gang member Ty. Skrabal taps at his phone's screen, returning the video call.
When the call is answered Skrabal is surprised to see Nash, another Toll Gang member, looking back him with a look of disapproval on his face.
"Nash, what's up fam? How you been? I ain't expect to see you ya nah."
"I'm good, more than I can say for you though. How it feel to finally have your shit talk catch up with you?"
"The fuck?"
"You out there talkin' shit about e'rybody e'ry time you talk. Last time you even gone in on Kate Steele and she ain't even looked in your direction. Then you callin' out Ohio and it got you all fucked up. Your shit talk finally catchin' up to you. What you needs to..."
"Oi nah, allow it fam. I ain't about to sit here an' listen to your bullshit."
"You don't like the truth?"
"Fam I am the truth. That be why can't nobody handle me."
"Yeah well Ohio handled you pretty well from where I been sittin'"
"And where the fuck ya been sittin' fam? In ya Ma's house, so don't go tellin' me how to run tings when I be out here runnin' tings on my ones. It's all good for you back in yard watchin' the shit on Splat, why you ain't come out here an' show me how it's done since ya got all the advice?"
"Look at you, sittin' there bent over, lookin' awkward as shit, your neck and ya back all fucked up, all coz you had to run that mouth again. The fight scheduled already, so why you wanna go bring that shit on top a month early?"
"Nash, I got love you bro, for real. Butchu really startin' to piss me off bredda I won't lie. So how 'bout you let me handle my shit the way I been handlin' my shit an' you just get yours off the hype it create. Coz I done know your pockets get a lil heavier e'rytime I come out here to work."
"Look like Ohio been handlin' your shit to me but I'mma leave you be since you ain't wanna listen to some words of wisdom." Nash passes the phone to Ty, who takes over the call.
"My G!"
"The fuck's his prollem?"
"You know how he be, it come from a place of love though. Anyway that be some big bizness with that tag team dub you and Leah picked up."
"Ain't no me an' Leah about it." Skrabal says nonchalantly, dismissing Leah's contribution to their victory.
"That's it, keep runnin' your mouth!" Nash shouts out in the background.
"So you got Stephanie Sullivan next then, you gonna have to rest up and be on top of ya game for that gyal, she ain't no slouch." Ty says, moving the conversation on.
"She ain't no Skrabz either."
"I'm jus' sayin'... Look I gotta be real withcu, you lookin' more vulnerable than ever right now and Steph the kinda gyal to capitalise on that. You can't take her too lightly."
"Why, what she gonna do? Fuck me for the dub?"
"Maybe!"
"Dont worry about it bredda, it ain't a ting. I got this."
"If you say so."
"I been sayin' so fam, an' I ain't been wrong yet."
"True!... Anyway I'mma let you get off and get rested. Look after yaself G."
"You too bredda, Toll."
"Toll"
Skrabal ends the call and throws his phone back onto the coffee table in front of him, then winces again and holds the back of his neck with his right hand. He moves his head from side to side, stretching his neck, which clicks and cracks with every little movement of his head.
Skrabal's Motel Room
Denver, Colorado
July 9th 2021
3.14AM
The scene opens on screen filling shot of Skrabal's face. Hie eyebrows sit low, his expression conveys a mixture of disdain and disgust as tips the dregs from a bottle of beer down his throat. The shot opens up as he leans forward and places his phone on the table in front of him. After propping the phone up he takes an open bottle of beer and a lit joint from table, outside the cameras view. He tips the remaining dregs of beer down his throat and holds on to the empty bottle.
"Man can only blame himself ya nah, yeah I shoulda done learned the first time it happen. It seem like e'rytime I has to work wit' someone they dull my shine in one way or another. They either be gettin' they shoulders pinned to the mat or stealin' the dub right outta my hands. But I ain't the only one who should learn from the shit, nah. Coz last time ol' what's his name did the ting, stole my dub after I got done dismantlin' The Foundation and now Leah done pulled that same shit after I made Lil Miss Maloney look like a buck fifty."
He leans down the side of the sofa and places his empty beer bottle on the floor, he also picks up a second phone and places it on the arm of the sofa.
"It seem history got a funny waya repeatin' itself."
He takes a deep, slow draw on his joint.
"It be all well and good pullin' a card from ol' what's his names deck but ya gotta remember how his hand played out from that point on. Dude went bust, his spade got blunted through his hole diggin' and this diamond swung clubs to make his heart sweat.... An' it seem history got a funny waya repeatin' itself. So if ya make it past Lil Miss Contradiction ya can go all in on man like Skrabz waitin' for ya wit' a full house a pain, an' you ain't gonna be left in no condition to jump around, standard!"
He pauses and tilts his head from side to side causing his neck to click and crack as he stretches. He raises his hands high above his head, his shoulders click and pop in their sockets as he stretches his arms towards the ceiling. As his arms come back down he leans down the side of the sofa, reaching for a bottle of beer from his ever present box of beers. He twists the top off the bottle and takes a drink, as soon as he's swallowed the amber a fluid he lifts his joint to his mouth.
The seconds tick by as he sits motionless, apparently deep in thought, as he smokes and drinks his way towards intoxication.
"Bossman, fam... What is this?
He pauses again and reaches for another bottle off beer.
"Nah for real I beg ya tell me what it is."
He twists the top off the bottle and throws it across the room.
"Bredrin this be the most offensive ting ya done to me so far and I ain’t playin’. I be insulted. Back when ya told ‘em all I ain’t comin’ back I thought you were dizzy, then ya said man like Skrabz ain’t ever gonna raise the big strap to sky again and I thought oh my days this bredda need to go take a long nap ‘fore he collapse from the light headedness… Then ya tried to fight man and I thought ya were outta ya mind but now you really started to piss me me off fam, for real."
He takes a quick sip from his bottle.
"I mean we all seen whatchu and that gyal Stephanie Sullivan been doin’ and now you want man like Skrabz to go put his hands on her?"
He shakes his head, a look of disdain settled momentarily on his face.
"Fam I feel dirty jus’ thinkin’ about it."
His neck pops and cracks as he tips his head back. As his right hand lifts the bottle of beer to his mouth his left hand instinctively reaches for the back of his neck, despite his best attempts to ignore the pain.
"But that's ya game is it? You on that bribe a thot wit’ tile shots steeze... See that be a dif'rence between me an' you innit, coz you out here doin' favours for pussy but man like Skrabz got pussy doin' favours for him, standard!."
He shakes his head a again, his face a portrait of revulsion.
"Nah, on the real ya disgust me. Ya both do... But shit, somebody gotta get got and I guess she be about as good as anyone else to catch this heat. Coz fam lemme tell ya, I be feelin’ hotter than I done did in a minute an’ since Ohio slammed me through a whole heapa tinder somebody ‘bout to get hooked up for real. Yeah, gyal like Steph gonna catch these fists a fire on a one night stand vibe, ya feel me? She ain’t know who she fuckin’ wit'. Not this time, I’m a go ‘head an’ clue her in though..."
"I be a notorious cunt
A clone maulin' lone wolf born on the hunt!"
A smug smirk flashes across his lips as he leans forward and retrieves a fresh joint from the the table in front of him.
"So I’mma tell ya the bossman done did ya dirtier than ya done yaself. I mean after you put out he put you on this before puttin' you on ya title shot an’ fam if you ask me that ain’t a fair deal for services received. Nah, he done fucked ya twice innit, but shit you got ya Ultimate Title match…"
He picks up the phone from the arm of the sofa.
"Hold up".
He places the phone to his ear, pretending to be answering a call.
"Who this is?"
He looks directly at the camera.
"Oh it be ya self respect."
He raises his eyebrows, pretending to be shocked.
"They said it ain't a big strap ting."
A exaggerated look of confusion falls over his face.
"What is it then?"
He jerks back slightly, feigning surprise.
"What?.. Nah, she didn’t."
He shakes his head in disgust.
"Phoenix strap?"
He drops the phone on the floor and lights his joint then takes a deep, slow draw.
"You got a real cheap price on ya dignity fam, but I ain’t about to charge for strippin’ what lil’ ya got left. I'mma do it for my daily rate on the Bossmans dollar. So you ain't gotta cover the price an' it be a good ting for ya coz your shoes too small to foot the bill anyway... Man like Skrabz be an overhead cost way outta ya reach even on ya tippy toes.
"I got sticks an' stones for nitty hoes, I keep 'em keep at they ceilin'
Kicks an' blows to break they bones an' words to hurt they feelin's"
"But on the real some a those words outta your mouth done hurt mine. Nah, that be wrong. They ain't hurt my feelin's but when man like Skrabz hear someone say they ain't care about catchin' the L he suffer from that second-hand embarrassment. I ain't even know how you can stand to see ya reflection. An' fam I ain't even sayin' you should catch e'ry dub that come your way, shit even I ain't do that, I been caught slippin' before but the dif'rence is I cared about it. The shit keep me up at night. Ya nah I have dreams fam, night terros, over an' over again I relive that so called miracle in the magness arena and I wake up in a cold sweat. You though? Shit you jus' shrug ya shoulders an' give thanks for the opportunity..."
He locks his eyes on the camera.
"Ya make me sick"
He shakes his head again, his previous statement evidenced by a look of disgust returning to his face.
"You right about one ting though, they do say Rome ain't been built in day but what they ain't tell you is man like Skrabz'll tear it down in a second flat."
"So bring ya gladiators here fam, The Don'll see 'em
I be the earthquake that fucked up The Colosseum"
"Yeah, so when that Magness arena start to shake an' your lil' dreams about dancin' to the top start to crumble jus' know that they ain't ever gonna be fixed... Butchu ain't buildin' Rome anyway, you ain't got the workmanship. Ain't nuttin' heritage site aboutchu fam, nah. You rockin' that shanty town vibe hard. Your architecture be sheet metal an' driftwood..."
He pauses briefly, his eyes locked on the camera.
"An' ya done know it ain't built to bear the load comin' your way."
He keeps his confident stared set on the camera as he takes a few deep draws on his joint.
"An' once I get done demolishin' you I'mma wait an' see if Ohio gonna make an appearance..."
He tilts his head from side to side, stretching his neck, again causing it click and crack with each movement.
"Or if I'mma have to go find him."
He leans forward and taps at his phones screen, ending the video.
