MD72: Phoenix vs. Johnny Scumm

[Ty Burna]

Meltdown will play host to a recover match as Johnny Scumm gets to lick his wounds after facing an irate Steven Holmes whilst Phoenix gets the chance to wash off the fact that he didn't qualify for the KFAD Elimination Chamber. Both men will have to do something impressive in this match to show that they still deserve to be on the Kingdom Card. Will the Phoenix rise once more or will Scumm show that he is a star to be looking out for?

Deadline is Tuesday, April 17th at 11:59 PM Central Time.​

 

[Ty Burna]

Johnny Scumm has been granted a 24 hour extension.

 

[Johnny Scumm]

The Road To Kingdom Come​

“Not looking bright, is it?”

“You could say that Chris, you could say that.”

Chris Kline is sat on the sofa in Johnny Scumm’s apartment, sprawled out looking as if he’s only there to relax. He’s shouting out his words to Scumm, who sounds as if he’s in the bathroom.

“Last week wasn’t good either Johnny! That Holmes bloke has a bit of an attitude problem if you’re asking me.”

Scumm now comes from the bathroom, his signature Mohawk wet & slicked back, he must’ve been in the shower. Wearing a pair of WZCW Shorts, he comes out to Kline with a towel around his neck. A large cut across the bridge of the nose adorns his face, Scumm looking more bruised than usual.

“Attitude? Multiply that by a thousand. If Holmes hadn’t played underhanded, I’d have had that in the bag. Even with a bloodied nose & worn down limbs, I was fighting back. Almost having the Facebreaker hit on Holmes was the greatest feeling. Actually, scratch that. The greatest feeling was that I was on Meltdown. For a change, I was competing on WZCW’s “A” show and everyone there was cheering me on. Did I please them? Maybe not, but I was still out there doing my best for them. But the ending, the humiliation, it wasn’t for me. I don’t go out there every week to have Steven Holmes have everyone see my neck be twisted to the point of breaking. I go out there to fight a match and if I lose, then I lose. I don’t go out there and ask to be murdered, do I? Granted, I get a kick from winning my matches and beating people down should I need to, I’ve not lost my mean streak and I never will. But it was as if Holmes wasn’t getting a kick, but getting off from the pain he put me through. I’ve just about cleared up now, I’ll be good to fight, but if that psycho comes near me, he’s going to wish he didn’t, let me tell you that.”

“Do you even know what you’re doing this week in the case of fighting? They granted you another Mayhem Title? Given Darren Bull another match to lose?”

“They haven’t told me. Being taken out of the arena last week, I don’t know if they thought I’d be able to fight or not. Well I’m ready for a fight. Bring on a Mayhem Title; bring on Darren Bull, that’s simple, much like him. Hell, bring on the Apostles of Chaos in a Handicap match, I’m ready to fight and I’m ready to win. I’m ready to change my path to Kingdom Come, believe that right now.”

“Talking about Kingdom Come, you’re not even on the card Scumm. You need to fight at WZCW’s biggest Pay-Per-View of the year if you really want to show the people what you’re all about!”

”Don’t you think I know that? Jesus Chris, sometimes I think you’re smart. Other times, I don’t know what occupies that space where your brain’s meant to be.”

“Very funny John. Very funny. You know what I’m on about though.”

“Of course I do and I know that I’m going to be at Kingdom Come, one way or another. Whatever I get given as a match this week will be the proving ground for Johnny Scumm. If it’s a title match, then I’ll be moving into our biggest Pay-Per-View with a title to defend. Maybe I’ll be fighting against someone to become a Number One Contender, who knows? I could end up against Triple X at Kingdom Come to take his Elite X championship, or maybe even Black Dragon for the Eurasian Title. Either way, I know I’m walking out of Kingdom Come a winner, in any match up.”

“Maybe Celeste Crimson will call you over for a spot on Team WZCW, and then you can really kick those Apostles into shape!”

“Unlikely. You know I’d love to have that opportunity though, that’s for sure. Any chance given to me that would involve showing Burna what I’ve got sounds got. Maybe he’d start respecting me! Hah, who am I kidding? Prick doesn’t respect anybody, not even his “Apostles”. What Burna really needs is a lesson. If he wins that WZCW Heavyweight Championship at Kingdom Come, I’d gladly be his first challenger, win or-”

A phone rings and Scumm immediately stops talking. He goes to walk to the phone, but Kline grabs it and puts it to his ear.

”Scumm’s place, how may I be o-”

Kline listens to the voice that's interrupted him from the other end.

“Oh, Mr. Bateman!”

Scumm signals that he doesn’t want to talk to Bateman right now and Kline smiles back him, giving him the thumbs up.

“Yeah, of course Scumm’s here! Do you really think he leaves this place?”

Scumm looks at Kline with a glare as Kline can’t help but laugh as he passes the phone to an annoyed Scumm.

“Bateman, what is it?”

Scumm listens as his eyes wander around the room nonchalantly.

“Right, Meltdown again? Maybe you are good for something at last. Could be good, everyone’s favorite Hardcore Superstar in action and winning, yes?”

Scumm continues to listen as Bateman obviously drivels on and on.

“Kingdom Come eh? Maybe this week really is beneficial. You may have just changed my opinion of you Bateman. Talk to me after the show.”

Scumm hangs up the phone, placing it back into its holder.

“Chris, you’re a total wanker. If I tell you that I don’t want to talk to him, I don’t want to talk to him, capiche? Bateman’s always been the most arrogant man I’ve had the displeasure of talking to.”

“Well, that sounded like good news to me, judging by your reaction, so maybe you should thank me!”

“Don’t push it. It wasn’t bad news that Bateman had though; I’ll tell you that much and that makes a damned change.”

“So… go on. What’s he said?”

“Well, it seems that I won’t be winning a Title this week, or becoming a contender for any either. However, I will be getting the chance to prove that I really am as good as I know I am.”

“Spill it then! I don’t come round here to wait.”

“Right, well they’ve booked me into a match on Meltdown against one of the losers from last week’s King For A Day qualifiers.”

”Holy shit, they’re putting you in a match against Blade? Former Eurasian Champion, that’s awesome! Well… not for Blade, he’s going to be losing!”

“Chris, don’t jump to conclusions. It’s not Blade, its Phoenix”

“Oh right. One of what could be called “WZCW Originals”. The self-proclaimed “Eternal One”. What a load of crap.”

“You’re right there Christopher. Phoenix, the newly proclaimed “Car Crash”. Funny that, because he was in one at one point. That’s what you get for drink-driving and being irresponsible right? Very original name you’ve got there as well, what with the whole being dead thing. Obviously, you’re a genius!”

“So, what’s the reason Bateman’s given you for the match against Phoenix taking place this week then?”

“He’s calling it a recovery match apparently. He said that I can lick my wounds after losing out to Holmes last week and that Phoenix can wash off the fact that he didn’t qualify for the King For A Day Chamber. After some more incoherent babbling, he told me that I should be impressing people this week and I might be considered for something Kingdom Come related. If I can prove that I really am the star to be looking out for, then I’ll be on the card without a doubt.”

“Well, seems about right. But you, licking your own wounds? Surely you can get Phoenix to do that after you hit him with the Facebreaker and keep him down for the 1, 2 and 3?”

“Indeed I can. Johnny Scumm doesn’t lick his own wounds and never will. Who knows, maybe Bateman will join in with him? Either way, this really is the start of the proving grounds. Beating Phoenix will do me and my career the world of good after continuous losses. It might also finally make the people realize that I’m worth the cheers they give me week in and out. It also might get me a match worth having at Kingdom Come. Strange really, because Phoenix said there were two paths he could’ve gone down. One of them would put him in the King For A Day Chamber; the other would lead him to a loss and obviously, no place in the Chamber. Funny, because he really should start wishing that he took the other path. Being led to me, at this point of my career is not a good thing for Phoenix. A loss last week to Callahan & Blade and soon to be a loss to Johnny Scumm. The man who hasn’t won in weeks will take down the “Eternal One” in nothing more than a heartbeat.”

“You’ve said all this before Scumm. Really mean it this time?”

“This time Chris, I do. The times before, I may not have been ready, but this time, I’m ready to step up to the ring, climb through the ropes and tackle a man who shouldn’t really be in a wrestling ring at his condition. Saboteur, Ricky Runn, Titus, Steven Holmes, Justin Cooper, Ace Stevens and Stevenson Marquel. They’re all men who in recent or past times, I’ve fallen to. But this time, Phoenix doesn’t make that list. He makes a new list. The list of people that Johnny Scumm has stood over victorious. Phoenix, you’re going to be the first name on that list.”

”Scumm, you ready for him?”

“Believe me when I say Chris that this Phoenix isn’t ever going to rise again.”

Scumm grabs his towel, throws it onto the sofa and walks away, into another room. Chris sighs, picks up the towel and looks at it; he starts to murmur to himself.

“Scumm, you’re going to need to step it up. Let’s hope that come Meltdown, you really are ready.”

Kline drops the towel and sits staring down, hoping that come the time Meltdown rolls around, Johnny Scumm is well and truly ready to face Phoenix and kick start his way to Kingdom Come.

 

[Thriller Ant]

The scene opens in a hallway backstage at Meltdown. The camera focuses in on a poster advertising Kingdom Come featuring Steven Kurtesy and the WZCW World Championship. Soon, it pans across the hall and centers on another Kingdom Come poster with Ty Burna and the Apostles of Chaos. The camera shifts again to a poster of the King For a Day Elimination Chamber. Before it pans away once more, the poster is ripped down and the camera shoved out of the way. As it falls, we see the other posters fall to the floor, but don’t get a view of the person responsible.

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Elsewhere in the arena, Leon Kensworth is standing in the backstage interview area, complete with signage advertising for the upcoming Kingdom Come pay-per-view.. The camera is rolling, but Leon is talking with a producer with no interviewee in sight.

No one’s seem him all day and you have a bunch of interviews to do, Leon. We’ll give him 5 more minutes before we move on to the next one.

Fair enough.

Leon starts looking through his notes as the producer walks off-camera. After a few moments, the producer shouts from off camera.

Leon, start! He’s here!

Leon drops his notes and turns to the camera to begin his interview.

Ladies and gentlemen, my…

A hand reaches from off-camera and pulls the microphone away from Leon. The camera zooms out to show the man is Phoenix. He looks incredibly frustrated and like he hasn’t slept since last week.

Let me handle this, Leon.

Leon heads off. Phoenix tosses the mic aside and speaks directly to the camera.

A couple months ago, I made my return to WZCW after a long absence. Before I left, I was really starting to make a name for myself as a solo wrestler in this company. I had an opportunity to win the Elite X Title at Kingdom Come last year. I never won that belt, and soon, I was gone.

I come back this year, and almost immediately have two of the best matches of my career against Drake Callahan. Then I qualified for the Lethal Lottery and a shot at main eventing Kingdom Come. I made it to the Lottery, but soon after, my feet hit the floor and that shot was gone.

Most recently, I tried to get into the King For a Day Elimination Chamber. I came up short twice, despite not being pinned in the second match. That opportunity is gone.

I came back the achieve some of the achievements I couldn’t my first go-round. I want to be remembered as one of the best to ever step foot in a WZCW ring. That’s why I came back.

Things haven’t exactly gone as planned, however. I’ve lost pretty much every match since I came back. It’s looking more and more like I’ll be watching Kingdom Come from the comfort of my couch. I might have been closer to a championship contender when I was still on hiatus in Japan.

So where am I now? I’m a man with nothing to lose. My credibility couldn’t be much lower, neither could my pride. I don’t have a Kingdom Come match or any title contention to my name.

What I do have, Johnny Scumm, is anger. I’ve tried to stay level headed, but with each loss, my anger grows. I try to channel it toward my training, but it continues to stir inside of me. This week, Johnny, you are in a most unenviable place. There is only one type of man more dangerous than a man with nothing to lose, and that is an angry man with nothing to lose.

We are in the final stretch before Kingdom Come and it’s going to occur whether or not I am there. It is all out of my hands. What isn’t out of my hands, is what happens in the ring between now and then. And between now and then, I plan on making sure every person I step into the ring with will hurt just as much as I do about my inability to make the biggest show of the year.

It’s a cliché, Johnny, but this week, you are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nothing personal, I just need to work off some excess anger.

Phoenix turns around, tears down the Kingdom Come ad, and the scene fades to black.