vs Jay Jones

(The feed opens up and Stark is standing at the top floor of the Empire State Building’s viewing deck alongside his friend Big Naheem. Stark is overlooking the city, and Big Naheem is behind him, rolling up a blunt.)

Big Naheem: No place like home, huh?

Stark: Nothing in the world like it. Now that I’ve been out in the ring more, it does feel good to come back and get some perspective. Rest is more effective than training before a big match. And of course, what better way to relax than with some danky dank. Is it done yet?

(Naheem finishes rolling it and lights it, taking a few hits before passing it to Stark. Stark takes a drag and slowly lets it out as he continues to look around the city.)

Stark: That’s good... Back to the island in a couple days now.

Naheem: What, Tokyo?

Stark: Oh nah, WrestleWorld... It seems like my days of messing with Wil Pierce are over, unfortunately.

Naheem: Wil Pierce? Wasn’t you fighting Devon Slayton?

Stark: I don’t even know anymore. These bland old enhancement talents all look the same to me. It’s funny though, I guess Devon has done his job. How did it feel amounting to nothing more than a heater feud for WrestleWorld’s hottest signing of 2021? 

Naheem: Well I don’t know about heater feud, I heard he might be competing in that Tribulations match you’re in.

Stark: Oh, the Four Tribulations? I texted Jah Walker about it like five times and he hasn’t hit me back up yet. I don’t know what the hell is going on in that match but I guess I’ll find out soon. I guess Devon Slayton isn’t doing so bad for himself if he gets to compete in the same match as me at the biggest show of this Season so far. Well, that’s only if he’s in the match regardless. I still don’t believe you, and when it comes to that match, even if Devon Slayton is in it, there’s more important people to worry about.

Naheem: Like who? 

Stark: Well, ain’t it obvious? This little bitch Jay Jones. Now, if I have to look at Jay Jones himself, I’m calling it an easy win. Yeah maybe that’s overconfident but it’s hard to look at the beach-blonde golden boy that Claudia Michaels has on a leash and take him seriously. I know a lot of people in WrestleWorld see ol’ girl HBG as a God, but I don’t see it that way. She might be from the generation before me but unlike a lot of fellow wrestlers of my own era, I don’t worship idols of the past. I’m a man of my own class, I’ve raised the bar further than they have, and the result is obvious. When you look at the talent I’ve nurtured at my own wing in SSW, one of who is wreaking havoc here in WrestleWorld as he should, compared to what Jay Jones is under Claudia Michaels, it seems pretty obvious which way this match is going to go. Jay Jones could be out there in the fray with the best of the best but until now, he’s been an attack dog for Claudia Michaels. All I’m seeing here is Claudia Michaels using a talented prospect as a pawn for her own agenda, and for some reason he’s bought into her scheme.

Naheem: I’ll say this since I work for Senn, sometimes you just gotta do what gets food on your family’s plate. But for someone like Jay Jones? You’re throwing away your potential playing lapdog like that.

Stark: I’m saying. Anyways, I know how it is with these kids like Jones. They’ve got a lot to say, they like talking. It’s just words for the sake of saying words... They feel like the more they speak the more they’ll get their point across but when you’re at the point of your career where I’m at, you learn a few things. Action of course will speak louder than any words, and screaming into the void isn’t what it’s chalked up to be. If the biggest highlight of your WrestleWorld career thus far is throwing Jaywalker down a flight of stairs, I’m afraid that your peak isn’t much higher than Devon Slayton, having the honor of getting bullied by yours truly for two months. Where’s that fire and intensity someone in your youth should have? Is that the road you want to take to the top, Jones? The road paved by the Architect Claudia Michaels? I promise you it is much more fulfilling to forge your own path, but I know you’re just doing what you think will get you ahead the fastest.

(Stark stops to think.)

Stark: But is that really true? Despite being Claudia Michaels’ foot soldier, I’m surprised that this is the biggest reward you’ve reaped from it. If I get to qualify for this Four Tribulations match off of two months being in this company doing nothing other than throwing hands with Devon Slayton, it’s surprising that being under the foot of the most powerful Architect Claudia Michaels hasn’t even gotten you an official title match. Hell it seems like I’ve challenged for the American Dream Championship more recently than you have, and that’s the division run by the very Architect that you work for! If I was you, Jay Jones, I’d be worrying less about me and worrying more on making sure that this alliance with Claudia Michaels is really worth it to you.

Naheem: That’s some good advice to give to the kid.

Stark: Yeah, but, I do have some other problems with Jay Jones... 

Naheem: You mean the SSW Spirit Royale? He did eliminate yo ass in five seconds.

Stark: Nah not even that, I can’t be mad about that. Plus I deserved it for confusing him for Fiora and beating his ass. I don’t even think he was mad about the asswhooping, he was probably just offended being compared to Fiora at all.

Naheem: Who wouldn’t be? That’s a super cracker.right there.

Stark: Indeed. My real problem with Jay Jones is how full of himself he is. You know I can’t stand people like that, dude. Jay Jones loves the sound of his own voice too much, and I guess it does remind me of Nathan Fiora enough to piss me off. Hell, that might even be the reason he sees an opportunity of mentorship with Claudia Michaels. Your ego will be your downfall, Jay Jones, and since you think allying with the likes of Nas is below you, I wanna ask you what the hell you have to your name other than the Rising Sun Championship and a collar with HBG’s address on it? 

(Stark laughs at his own joke like the meathead he is.)

Naheem: It wasn’t that funny... 

Stark: I know. In between your little immature jabs and limited worldview, you actually do speak some notion of truth. People DO hang onto every word I say, and let me tell you why. Other than the fact that I took that right by force, that very fact paints the difference between me and you more illustratively than anything else ever could. I’m just worth listening to. I don’t need a mentor or a boss, or a guiding figure, I speak for myself and people listen because there is value in my words. Maybe you’ll learn that one day, Jay, maybe you won’t. That’ll come down to whether or not you’re willing to learn the things you need to in order to succeed in this industry. At least you’re right to acknowledge that you know there’s no guarantee you won’t beat me. And I can say the same, despite everything you’re doing wrong in WrestleWorld, I get to see all the things you’re doing right in SSW. You’re at the top of your game as a dominant Rising Sun Champion and I can’t take away your credit there. 

(Stark stops to think.)

Stark: You know it’s actually really interesting for me when I face newer guys like you. To my generation, guys like you are a blank slate, Jay. You don’t know about our pasts in places like EAW, you know us for how we are now. But given that you weren’t around to see my past Jay, let me fill you in on something. There’s a reason guys like Jaywalker and the Architects get that chill down their spine when they know I’m up to something... You know me as the funny stoner, the comedy guy, the weeb, the simp, whatever childish label I put on myself for the sake of entertainment. But beneath all that is a monster that youngins like you need to learn to respect, and if you don’t want to respect me, get in the ring with me and I’ll teach you to fear me. Now when it comes to our match Jones, there’s two ways this can go. You can bring me WrestleWorld Jay Jones, the personal hitman for Claudia Michaels, the bitch boy for the golden Architect, and I’ll smack you aside like the little wimp you are and put you in your place.

Or you can bring me the Jay Jones I know from SSW, the Jay Jones that’s the most dominant Rising Sun Champion in my company’s history. The Jay Jones that eliminated me from a match I was actually going to try my best to win in five seconds. The Jay Jones that’s primed to take the World Championship and hold it higher than anyone before him has ever held it. That’s when I can give you the respect you think you’re entitled to, because that’s respect you’ll have earned. 

(Stark nods his head and lights the blunt back up, taking another hit and leaning back on the barricade. The feed fades out.)