A Ripple in The Scene.

(Our scene begins as Teddy Mac is seen in the woods once again, though this time he is alone on his trip. Teddy has made his way to the edge of the forest, taking in nature while standing in front of the lake. He crouches down, reaching out to the ground and straightening back up with a rock firmly clutched in his hand.

Teddy swings his hand about, getting a feel for the rock as he looks over at what’s ahead. The sky has darkened as the sun is close to setting, he can see the rest of the trees on the other end of the water, and there is an overall feeling of peacefulness as all of the other creatures have settled down for the evening. It’s just Teddy with the gentle breeze in his face and the ripples of the water as Teddy rears back and tosses his stone. The rock skips across the surface for about four close leaps before stopping short of what Teddy might have wanted.)

Teddy Mac: You know, when I first came to Wrestleworld, I knew I was going to have a long ways to go before I made it to where I wanted to be. I’ve lived my life long enough to figure out that it’s gonna be tough for me starting out in anywhere that’s a new environment. If you’ve followed me from the start then you know the drill: I’m a “nice guy” in a world where it takes being “alpha” to find yourself amongst the heads of the pack. On top of that, I have jumped head first into an industry full of people with cruel intentions and no moral limits when it comes to getting what they want. It takes a big personality, a master strategist, a hell of a fighter to pick up any success in the business of professional wrestling. I’ve already been through it with the OWA, so I expected everything that was going to be working against me here; from the moment I signed my name on that dotted line I was well aware of all the obstacles that I was going to PREVAIL over.

(Teddy Mac starts to walk along the lake, looking down at his feet as he surveys the turf for another good stone to get his hands on.)

Teddy Mac: Let me list the obvious hurdles. I’m not built like the typical athlete of today. I don’t do flashy gimmicks or tell sensationalized stories. I lack the political power in the back to pick and choose my circumstances to get ahead. I don’t have a marketable name or a set of catchphrases to put on t-shirts. I’m not smooth and witty, nor do I have the “cool” factor. I’m the big silly dad who was doing paperwork and staying home changing diapers a year back. I don’t get taken seriously at first glance.

(Teddy Mac’s eyes light up momentarily as he settles on another rock which caught his eye. He goes to pick it up, but stalls on throwing it. Instead he throws it up in the air and catches it several times, doing so almost absent mindedly.)

Teddy Mac: I’m everything that the architects of my division, Drake Jaeger and Tiberius Jones, are not. Jungle Jaguar would say the same but for different reasons. You see, Jag is very no-nonsense. He’s not overly extravagant, he doesn’t do drama and he doesn’t go out of his way to build a brand for himself to get his name out there. The source of his reputation can be found within the four sides of the squared circle. He won’t go out of his way to speak on anyone or promote his fights...he lets his actions do the talking. So people count him out because they don’t see him as interesting or a media standout. He doesn’t bring that sizzle which our architects proudly embrace.

(Teddy Mac catches his stone toss one more time, but this time ends up swiftly launching it across the pond, getting it farther from last time, but still not too impressive. He picks up another.)

Teddy Mac: Jag and I veer so far off course from the formula that got Drake and Jones so popular. We have spent our lives operating in contrast to all of the attributes which gave Drake and Jones enough clout to be called for the architect position in the first place. We don’t possess anything that those two do….unless you’re talking about raw talent. We have that in spades. We have so much of it that it probably scares the two of them out of their boots. Jag and I were a chance tag team, a thrown together duo meant to fill up a card and get some rookie bodies on the show. But what did we do? We made magic. We meshed together like we were a day one tag team. We performed so well that we got the wrestling world talking despite the case of “judging a book by its cover.” We  forced the booking team to run with our efforts, and we just snowballed with momentum all of the way to the tag team championships that you were gatekeeping with your lives for a good nine months. It took us one fiery summer, starting from square one, for us to rise up the ranks and be on your level! Getting put in the record books as your successors! We didn’t beat you, which I understand is the point of contention for you two hassling us so badly, but keep in mind that we beat the boys that ate you for lunch back at Kingdom Come! You two gave up the keys, Red Zone District were the ones trusted to run the division, and we came in and took their place! The tag titles are meant to be the big bad boss battle for anyone competing in a Wrestleworld division, well we beat the game, and we did it with max difficulty and extra enemies coming from all angles: scaling twenty feet ladders with two extra teams blocking our paths.

(Teddy Mac stares off as he preps his swing once more.)

Teddy Mac: I’m sure it’s troubling...knowing that we naturally took on the role you both dedicated years to crafting for yourselves; doing talk show segments and producing catchy theme songs to prop up. With everything working against us, and no rhyme or reason for us to have been more than a mere flicker in the tag scene, we became the faces of the division. We’re the ones with the posters. We’re on the website banners. Our names are embedded on the belts that were practically considered PROPERTY of Drake Jaeger and Tiberius Jones. I don’t mean to show off or come off as arrogant, but it’s hard to not bring this all up when I’m getting discredited. Drake and Jones can’t step on our hearts, they can’t kill that passion that has led us into running through our competition, so they try and slow us down by getting in our heads. They start doing what they do best: using their made-for-TV personalities to go out and start telling lies. Drake and Jones can talk with the best of them. Their jokes are top tier. If it was about entertainment, they’d be Campeonatos de Parejas forever. But you see, none of their comedy, none of their hilarious antics or plays to the crowd, NONE OF IT matters as far as making their false claims any more valid!

(Teddy Mac skips his third rock as this one goes so far that it is nearly out of sight from the camera.)

Teddy Mac: Heh. Speaking on how Drake and Jones carry themselves…..that’s honestly the weird part of this whole situation. Drake and Jones’ bread and butter is comic relief and well thought out ridicule. They’ve made their careers off getting viral moments that will be clipped forever and repeated over the water cooler. Yet Drake gets on camera to discuss my upcoming singles match with him, and how does he “put me in my place?” By saying WE’RE the comic relief! That we exist as guys to get a laugh out of the crowd and gain support that way. Am I in the Twilight Zone? When we hit October first, did the world turn “spooky” and bring us into an episode of Black Mirror? It’s especially confusing because if Drake really wants to commit to that narrative, it can all be refuted by going through the archive and watching ANY match with Jag and I. Go on ahead, look back on it all. Was it comical when Jag and I entered a four way tag and cleared the ring like it was nothing? Was it comical when we worked together in the Carnival Carnage and went up against the likes of Drago and Ozymandias? When I got an outpouring of messages and fans campaigning for me all through social media, was it because I made them feel good from busting a gut, or was it because I was putting up submissions on the board against the best newcomers in Wrestleworld! Did they remember me as the chubby guy with the daughters at home or did they give me my flowers for being the man who REFUSED to die ‘til the bitter end?

Tell me Drake, how goofy did I look when I was a bloody mess in that ring, up against a 300 pound terror hound like Ozy? Risking my life as he folded my body in half and threatened to cave my head in!? Staring down death in defiance and holding my ground as his equal, holding my ground as a MAN! I suppose I wasn’t being serious when I was willing to put my career on the line, all out of the desire to be champion, all because I care for this sport with every fiber of my being! What about when I stuck my neck out with Jag went up against The Underworld, a group of psychopaths and attempted murders, to fight on behalf of my friend, Nobi! What was that, Drake? I took an ass whooping without QUESTION because I’d rather stand up and face backlash than stand down and be quiet like a coward, but I guess that wasn’t what I was commended for!

AND OH, OH, OHHH! ONE MORE TIME, LET’S BRING IT UP! Drake! Jones! Were you two cackling in your chairs when Jag and I went to WAR at Dreamworld, putting ourselves into the hospital with six other competitors, and managed to pull ourselves through the wreckage of the ladders to climb up and become champions? Were we winning the crowd over as comedians then? Or did we put up our end of a social contract between us in the fans with our blood, sweat and tears? Did we win them over by getting you two punks mad by earning your straps!? Jag and I might get some smiles when we’re out and about or having some laid back bonding, but there’s never been a SECOND in that ring where we were anything but hard workers busting our asses and impressing the fans with skill, dedication and SPIRIT! That’s what brought us to the dance! That’s what has made us SUCCESSFUL! That’s right, The Bear and Jag Connection is a certified SUCCESS in this federation. The fans don’t need to want for it or hope to see it, we’ve already achieved it; you two are the only dolts who want to pretend like we haven’t out of insecurity with yourselves. You can’t fool yourselves forever, Drake and Jones. You’ll be the ones waking up from a dream, and the stirs begin this Sunday when I get my hands on Jaeger! I might not be in the costume he’s expecting, but rest assured I’ll be dressed up as his worst nightmare. A former World Champion, a former OWA Tag Champion, one half of the UNDISPUTED tag champs of “his” division -- A BIG ‘OL DOSE OF HUMBLENESS THAT’LL BE HITTING HIM RIGHT ACROSS THE FACE.

(Teddy Mac throws one final rock across the pond as it goes beyond what he was hoping for, leaving powerful ripples and making long strides as it goes off in the distance and comes close to making it across the pond before sinking down. Teddy looks satisfied, capturing the moment in his head for a few seconds before moving on.)

Teddy Mac: You know, Drake was right. A rock in a pond...it makes some ripples, but it doesn’t really make an impact at the end of the day. Nobody will even remember it once it’s ended. I don’t think anything happening in a pond is worth mentioning though, anyway. There’s a whole landscape around it. The pond is just a footnote in an entire scope of nature, and there are some moving parts there that definitely put everyone else on notice. A bear in the woods for example, now that….that’s a game changer to the whole food chain. I wouldn’t want to be the one trying to take back its place at the top. That’d be a horrific sight, now wouldn’t it? Keep that in mind, Jaeger.

(Teddy Mac takes one last look at the water before turning around and heading back into the forest, walking away casually as we fade to black.)