Post by Ankh on Sept 1, 2011 16:55:31 GMT -5
Angels descending, bring from above,
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
-Fanny J. Crosby
Our scene opens on a shot of a rundown building on a crowded city street. It’s not to overwhelmingly busy, but not exactly slow either. A man is seen peering though the shattered pane glass windows. The shot closes in to see what the man is staring at. Inside lay nothing, but broken glass, tattered shelving units, and a barrel the homeless probably use for heat in the night. The man turns around to reveal a strangely familiar face. The man is wearing a familiar suit; it is a black Georgio Armani suit with a crimson tie hanging from his neck, and black custom made German leather shoes. After examining the man’s face more closely he is revealed to be Jacob Jones. Jones beard has been trimmed to its usual close cut, but his usual full head of hair is now shaved bald. Jones looks back at the battered building and then back to the camera to speak.
Jones: Forty-two long days ago, I stood in this city and spoke to a man in the twilight of his career. A man whom I idolized my whole life in Scott Levy. Scott, you and I tore each other apart that night in Las Vegas. I gave you everything I had and you took it all before throwing me from the top of the titantron and almost ended my career. On that night the Raven soared over the Mandalay Bay Event Center and lead you to your crowning victory to end your career. Then, at the end of the night you cast the spirit of Raven out like a leper. Scott, you left it all behind to live your life after you tried your hardest to end mine. Forty-two days later, I am about to step into the ring with a man of “Destiny” in Alberto Del Rio. The man who claims to be a Mexican aristocrat and the man who stole my chance at the World Heavyweight Championship when he motivated Anthony Ferraro to take it from me. Del Rio, you hold something that I desire in your Intercontinental Championship. I want it and I will have it before this night turns to dawn. Before I battled with Scott I showed the world a glimpse of my past to explain how I became the man that I am today. Today, like that day I shall let you all into my world again.
Jones turns away from the camera and begins to walk into the battered building as it all morphs around him. The building becomes a busy little mom and pop store with the name Dinapoli’s on the front. A much younger Jacob Jones emerges from the back in blue jeans and a black t-shirt with a white Dinapoli’s apron covering his chest. Jones begins to sweep the floor as an old man comes out and hands him an envelope. Jones opens the envelope to reveal money; Jacob becomes elated as he hugs the old man tightly. The scene returns to normal as we see Jones standing over the now lit burn barrel looking into the flames.
Jones: Social services took me away from my parents at age thirteen after the fights I was having at school. I spent two months jumping from group home to group home until I was sent to live with Mario and Maria Dinapoli. They were supposed to be my temporary foster parents, but they were really my saviors. You see, Mario gave me my first job right here in this store and together they supported me in my dreams. A year after I moved in with them I was supposed to be transferred somewhere else and they adopted me. They gave me a life that I didn’t know existed. I went to church every Sunday with my new parents, but they still let me watch my wrestling. I still followed the man who spoke “Nevermore” and I still wanted to make it my life. Maria hated when I watched Raven and his Flock crucify The Sandman in the middle of the ECW Arena, but she knew it was my dream. The day Mario handed me that envelope was the most important day of my life. I had just graduated high school and he gave me the money to pursue my dream. Because of them I became a professional wrestler. I trained with my new family supporting me every step of the way. That is until…
The scene once again morphs around Jones to the same little store with Mario standing behind the counter. Jones is nowhere to be seen as a man in a suit begins to argue with Mario. The man pulls out his check book and begins making demands, but Mario just shakes his head. The man argues some more before finally storming out of the store. The scene adjusts itself once again as night falls upon the small shop. Three men in ski masks are seen outside the building. The first man grabs a brick and throws it through the window. As the pan glass shatters all three men enter the store brandishing their weapons of choice as they trash the little shop. Mario emerges from the back with a baseball bat, but is quickly overwhelmed by the men in the masks as they assault him with their weapons. The men throw Mario through the remaining window to the outside before setting the shop on fire. Flames rise as the scene fades away and Jones is seen once again staring into the flaming barrel.
Jones: Big business came and tried to drive Dinapoli’s out of business. They wanted to buy our shop and Mario wouldn’t let them. He said it was going to stay in the family and that his “son” would run it after his wrestling career was over. They didn’t like that answer and they tried to scare Mario with threats before sending their goons to destroy the place. Mario was working late when they came and he couldn’t stop them from doing their job. I was in a cheap hotel in Golden Valley after a hard day of Arik Cannon’s training camp when I got the call. Tony suffered severe lacerations from the window and lost a lot of blood. When I got to hospital I was informed that Mario had passed away twenty minutes before I arrived. Maria was overtaken with grief and refused to let anyone go anywhere near the store. I was devastated and I abandoned Maria when she needed me most. I spent all my time working towards my goal and didn’t take time to console her when she needed it. She died a year later from lung cancer and I returned to the life that I lived before the Dinapolis saved me. I sacrificed myself in the ring and did stunts that should have killed me because I had nothing left to lose. At night I would drink away the pain I felt emotionally and physically until I got injured in a match that almost ended my career.
The scene fades away as Jones runs his hands over his shaved head. Our new scene shows a small arena filled with screaming fans as we see Jacob Jones sitting in the ring across from his opponent with blood already streaming from his head and back. Jones and his opponent begin to share blows with each other, left, right, left, right, left, right, until the both collapse upon each other from exhaustion. Jones opponent pushes him off and kicks him in the skull before reaching for a staple gun. He staples a five dollar bill to his own forehead before stapling Jones repeatedly in the chest. Jones screams in pain as the man sets up a table wrapped in barbed wire. Jones gets to his feet while his opponent taunts the crowd and busts a house window over the man’s head. Jones covers and the man kicks out. Jacob rolls to the outside and pulls out a twenty foot ladder and sets it up in the ring. Jones pulls the man up the ladder and attempts to drive him through the barbed wire table only to turn and join his opponent in the agony of the barbed wire. The ring crew cuts the barbed wire away from them thinking it is over only to have the man pull a plywood coffin from under the ring filled with light tubes. The man screams it’s over and lifts Jones to his feet Chokeslamming Jones into the coffin and getting the win. The scene fades away and Jones now stands in the Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis. The moon is high in the sky as Jones stares at a tombstone for what seems like an eternity before turning to speak to the camera.
Jones: I inhaled the glass dust that emitted from the crushed tubes. It ripped away at my trachea and lungs while the other wounds obliterated my outsides. It took me six months to get back in the ring and from then on I changed my gimmick. I sold out and became “The Natural” Jacob Jones. I left the staples and tacks behind for the workout gear and steroids. I injected myself with that stuff to give me the extra edge I needed to get out of the indies and into the big time. I sat right here and told them what I was doing to achieve my goals even though I knew they wouldn’t approve.
The tombstone is now revealed as the graves of Mario and Maria Dinapoli. Jones sits next to the tombstone laying a red rose on each plot before dropping his head. Jones looks up at the moon as a tear slides down his left cheek. Jones shakes his head and wipes the tear away before speaking again.
Jones: Soon enough, Shawn called and I got my job in Saturday Night’s Main Event. I show up every week and put my body on the line for people who boo me for no better reason than the fact that they don’t understand me. Paul understands me and that’s why he is by my side. Paul knows my story and he sympathizes with me. Paul saw potential in me before anyone else in Saturday Night’s Main Event did and he supported me when others condemned me. Then Scott Levy took him from me and forced me to compete alone against him at Seven Deadly Sins. I gave it my all and on that night the spirit of The Raven sided with Scott Levy, but then something astounding happened. The spirit chose me as its new host and I grew to become something more entirely. I grew to become a monster within my own skin. It consumed me and turned me into a clone of the man I used to admire. Until Paul returned and saved me just as the Dinapolis saved me in my childhood. Paul taught me to control it and allowed me to be one with it in a time of need. Paul is my Messiah and I will follow wherever he leads as his Fallen Angel. Maria used to call me her angel and I failed her. I let them down and I fell into a dark abyss of loneliness. Father Paul has lifted me up and tonight the Fallen Angel will rise against you Alberto Del Rio for your transgressions. For you have broken each of the seven deadly sins, Alberto. Let us look into your sins.
Lust: You lusted for the Intercontinental Championship and you gave into your desires when you bought the championship match right out from under Anthony Ferraro.
Gluttony: You exude excess every week when you enter the arena in your new automobile and your new suits. You are a glutton for earthly possessions.
Greed: You have an unfathomable about of greed for money. All you think about is your possessions and riches. Like the business men who strove to take Mario’s shop from him you care nothing for the ones that you hurt in your pursuit of money.
Sloth: You purchased your Intercontinental Championship match without putting the time in to earn it you just stole it from the deserving. You laid in wait just biding your time to strike when the championship was most vulnerable.
Wrath: Two men who stood before you left with broken arms. You couldn’t control your wrath and broke their arms because they stood in your way. You may have ended the career of Hunter Hearst Helmsley and you put Matt Sydal on the shelf for over a month as they felt your wrath.
Envy: Even with your Intercontinental Championship around your waist you still envy Anthony Ferraro because he now has a chance at an even greater prize. You envy Randal Keith Orton because of his firm grasp on the World Heavyweight Championship. You want that championship around your waist even though you don’t deserve the championship that you wear now.
Finally, we will speak of your greatest sin Alberto. Pride: Pride comes before the fall they say and you ooze pride from your every orifice. You claim that it is your destiny to be champion and that it is your destiny to win here tonight. You are so proud of yourself that you think that you deserve to have everything handed to you. That by some divine right you are entitled to everything and you are proud of your “so-called” accomplishments. Your pride will lead you down a path of forgotten righteousness as you come face to face with the new Jacob Jones, The Fallen Angel. You shall be purged of your sins as I remove temptation from your soul and relieve you of the Intercontinental Championship. Your transgressions against your fellow man shall be paid for with blood as I stand above you a new man. An Angel I may be, but when I summon the power of the Raven and Fallen Angel I become. So is written and so it shall come to pass. Though the may be condemned into damnation I shall lift the up before casting you back into hell for your transgressions. Mine wings were once white, but now stained black as night the Raven’s wings shall lift me up as I cast the down. Alberto Del Rio, like a lamb to slaughter you are the first to be “saved” by the Fallen Angel. You sins have made you blind and on the Highway 2 Hell I shall be your guide. Heaven sent, Hell bound, Quote the Raven, Nevermore.
Jones gets to his feet and with the moon glowing behind him he places his right arm in front of him as if holding a bible and the other is raised with two fingers up and his thumb out as if he is praying. Jones raises his head and stares into the camera as it fades to black.
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
-Fanny J. Crosby
Our scene opens on a shot of a rundown building on a crowded city street. It’s not to overwhelmingly busy, but not exactly slow either. A man is seen peering though the shattered pane glass windows. The shot closes in to see what the man is staring at. Inside lay nothing, but broken glass, tattered shelving units, and a barrel the homeless probably use for heat in the night. The man turns around to reveal a strangely familiar face. The man is wearing a familiar suit; it is a black Georgio Armani suit with a crimson tie hanging from his neck, and black custom made German leather shoes. After examining the man’s face more closely he is revealed to be Jacob Jones. Jones beard has been trimmed to its usual close cut, but his usual full head of hair is now shaved bald. Jones looks back at the battered building and then back to the camera to speak.
Jones: Forty-two long days ago, I stood in this city and spoke to a man in the twilight of his career. A man whom I idolized my whole life in Scott Levy. Scott, you and I tore each other apart that night in Las Vegas. I gave you everything I had and you took it all before throwing me from the top of the titantron and almost ended my career. On that night the Raven soared over the Mandalay Bay Event Center and lead you to your crowning victory to end your career. Then, at the end of the night you cast the spirit of Raven out like a leper. Scott, you left it all behind to live your life after you tried your hardest to end mine. Forty-two days later, I am about to step into the ring with a man of “Destiny” in Alberto Del Rio. The man who claims to be a Mexican aristocrat and the man who stole my chance at the World Heavyweight Championship when he motivated Anthony Ferraro to take it from me. Del Rio, you hold something that I desire in your Intercontinental Championship. I want it and I will have it before this night turns to dawn. Before I battled with Scott I showed the world a glimpse of my past to explain how I became the man that I am today. Today, like that day I shall let you all into my world again.
Jones turns away from the camera and begins to walk into the battered building as it all morphs around him. The building becomes a busy little mom and pop store with the name Dinapoli’s on the front. A much younger Jacob Jones emerges from the back in blue jeans and a black t-shirt with a white Dinapoli’s apron covering his chest. Jones begins to sweep the floor as an old man comes out and hands him an envelope. Jones opens the envelope to reveal money; Jacob becomes elated as he hugs the old man tightly. The scene returns to normal as we see Jones standing over the now lit burn barrel looking into the flames.
Jones: Social services took me away from my parents at age thirteen after the fights I was having at school. I spent two months jumping from group home to group home until I was sent to live with Mario and Maria Dinapoli. They were supposed to be my temporary foster parents, but they were really my saviors. You see, Mario gave me my first job right here in this store and together they supported me in my dreams. A year after I moved in with them I was supposed to be transferred somewhere else and they adopted me. They gave me a life that I didn’t know existed. I went to church every Sunday with my new parents, but they still let me watch my wrestling. I still followed the man who spoke “Nevermore” and I still wanted to make it my life. Maria hated when I watched Raven and his Flock crucify The Sandman in the middle of the ECW Arena, but she knew it was my dream. The day Mario handed me that envelope was the most important day of my life. I had just graduated high school and he gave me the money to pursue my dream. Because of them I became a professional wrestler. I trained with my new family supporting me every step of the way. That is until…
The scene once again morphs around Jones to the same little store with Mario standing behind the counter. Jones is nowhere to be seen as a man in a suit begins to argue with Mario. The man pulls out his check book and begins making demands, but Mario just shakes his head. The man argues some more before finally storming out of the store. The scene adjusts itself once again as night falls upon the small shop. Three men in ski masks are seen outside the building. The first man grabs a brick and throws it through the window. As the pan glass shatters all three men enter the store brandishing their weapons of choice as they trash the little shop. Mario emerges from the back with a baseball bat, but is quickly overwhelmed by the men in the masks as they assault him with their weapons. The men throw Mario through the remaining window to the outside before setting the shop on fire. Flames rise as the scene fades away and Jones is seen once again staring into the flaming barrel.
Jones: Big business came and tried to drive Dinapoli’s out of business. They wanted to buy our shop and Mario wouldn’t let them. He said it was going to stay in the family and that his “son” would run it after his wrestling career was over. They didn’t like that answer and they tried to scare Mario with threats before sending their goons to destroy the place. Mario was working late when they came and he couldn’t stop them from doing their job. I was in a cheap hotel in Golden Valley after a hard day of Arik Cannon’s training camp when I got the call. Tony suffered severe lacerations from the window and lost a lot of blood. When I got to hospital I was informed that Mario had passed away twenty minutes before I arrived. Maria was overtaken with grief and refused to let anyone go anywhere near the store. I was devastated and I abandoned Maria when she needed me most. I spent all my time working towards my goal and didn’t take time to console her when she needed it. She died a year later from lung cancer and I returned to the life that I lived before the Dinapolis saved me. I sacrificed myself in the ring and did stunts that should have killed me because I had nothing left to lose. At night I would drink away the pain I felt emotionally and physically until I got injured in a match that almost ended my career.
The scene fades away as Jones runs his hands over his shaved head. Our new scene shows a small arena filled with screaming fans as we see Jacob Jones sitting in the ring across from his opponent with blood already streaming from his head and back. Jones and his opponent begin to share blows with each other, left, right, left, right, left, right, until the both collapse upon each other from exhaustion. Jones opponent pushes him off and kicks him in the skull before reaching for a staple gun. He staples a five dollar bill to his own forehead before stapling Jones repeatedly in the chest. Jones screams in pain as the man sets up a table wrapped in barbed wire. Jones gets to his feet while his opponent taunts the crowd and busts a house window over the man’s head. Jones covers and the man kicks out. Jacob rolls to the outside and pulls out a twenty foot ladder and sets it up in the ring. Jones pulls the man up the ladder and attempts to drive him through the barbed wire table only to turn and join his opponent in the agony of the barbed wire. The ring crew cuts the barbed wire away from them thinking it is over only to have the man pull a plywood coffin from under the ring filled with light tubes. The man screams it’s over and lifts Jones to his feet Chokeslamming Jones into the coffin and getting the win. The scene fades away and Jones now stands in the Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis. The moon is high in the sky as Jones stares at a tombstone for what seems like an eternity before turning to speak to the camera.
Jones: I inhaled the glass dust that emitted from the crushed tubes. It ripped away at my trachea and lungs while the other wounds obliterated my outsides. It took me six months to get back in the ring and from then on I changed my gimmick. I sold out and became “The Natural” Jacob Jones. I left the staples and tacks behind for the workout gear and steroids. I injected myself with that stuff to give me the extra edge I needed to get out of the indies and into the big time. I sat right here and told them what I was doing to achieve my goals even though I knew they wouldn’t approve.
The tombstone is now revealed as the graves of Mario and Maria Dinapoli. Jones sits next to the tombstone laying a red rose on each plot before dropping his head. Jones looks up at the moon as a tear slides down his left cheek. Jones shakes his head and wipes the tear away before speaking again.
Jones: Soon enough, Shawn called and I got my job in Saturday Night’s Main Event. I show up every week and put my body on the line for people who boo me for no better reason than the fact that they don’t understand me. Paul understands me and that’s why he is by my side. Paul knows my story and he sympathizes with me. Paul saw potential in me before anyone else in Saturday Night’s Main Event did and he supported me when others condemned me. Then Scott Levy took him from me and forced me to compete alone against him at Seven Deadly Sins. I gave it my all and on that night the spirit of The Raven sided with Scott Levy, but then something astounding happened. The spirit chose me as its new host and I grew to become something more entirely. I grew to become a monster within my own skin. It consumed me and turned me into a clone of the man I used to admire. Until Paul returned and saved me just as the Dinapolis saved me in my childhood. Paul taught me to control it and allowed me to be one with it in a time of need. Paul is my Messiah and I will follow wherever he leads as his Fallen Angel. Maria used to call me her angel and I failed her. I let them down and I fell into a dark abyss of loneliness. Father Paul has lifted me up and tonight the Fallen Angel will rise against you Alberto Del Rio for your transgressions. For you have broken each of the seven deadly sins, Alberto. Let us look into your sins.
Lust: You lusted for the Intercontinental Championship and you gave into your desires when you bought the championship match right out from under Anthony Ferraro.
Gluttony: You exude excess every week when you enter the arena in your new automobile and your new suits. You are a glutton for earthly possessions.
Greed: You have an unfathomable about of greed for money. All you think about is your possessions and riches. Like the business men who strove to take Mario’s shop from him you care nothing for the ones that you hurt in your pursuit of money.
Sloth: You purchased your Intercontinental Championship match without putting the time in to earn it you just stole it from the deserving. You laid in wait just biding your time to strike when the championship was most vulnerable.
Wrath: Two men who stood before you left with broken arms. You couldn’t control your wrath and broke their arms because they stood in your way. You may have ended the career of Hunter Hearst Helmsley and you put Matt Sydal on the shelf for over a month as they felt your wrath.
Envy: Even with your Intercontinental Championship around your waist you still envy Anthony Ferraro because he now has a chance at an even greater prize. You envy Randal Keith Orton because of his firm grasp on the World Heavyweight Championship. You want that championship around your waist even though you don’t deserve the championship that you wear now.
Finally, we will speak of your greatest sin Alberto. Pride: Pride comes before the fall they say and you ooze pride from your every orifice. You claim that it is your destiny to be champion and that it is your destiny to win here tonight. You are so proud of yourself that you think that you deserve to have everything handed to you. That by some divine right you are entitled to everything and you are proud of your “so-called” accomplishments. Your pride will lead you down a path of forgotten righteousness as you come face to face with the new Jacob Jones, The Fallen Angel. You shall be purged of your sins as I remove temptation from your soul and relieve you of the Intercontinental Championship. Your transgressions against your fellow man shall be paid for with blood as I stand above you a new man. An Angel I may be, but when I summon the power of the Raven and Fallen Angel I become. So is written and so it shall come to pass. Though the may be condemned into damnation I shall lift the up before casting you back into hell for your transgressions. Mine wings were once white, but now stained black as night the Raven’s wings shall lift me up as I cast the down. Alberto Del Rio, like a lamb to slaughter you are the first to be “saved” by the Fallen Angel. You sins have made you blind and on the Highway 2 Hell I shall be your guide. Heaven sent, Hell bound, Quote the Raven, Nevermore.
Jones gets to his feet and with the moon glowing behind him he places his right arm in front of him as if holding a bible and the other is raised with two fingers up and his thumb out as if he is praying. Jones raises his head and stares into the camera as it fades to black.