The following is a press release from The Friends of Austin Reynolds
Want to meet one of WZCW’s biggest stars? Keen to get hold of the latest merchandise from WZCW and their hottest new tag team? Then you will want to visit the UIC Pavillions in Chicago as two of the Second City’s favourite sons, Austin Reynolds and Ricky Runn will be there to show off their contribution to WZCW’s massive range of merchandise, including Runn Reynolds Runn T-shirts and flags.
To celebrate Runn Reynolds Runn being featured as one of the options in the Unscripted Tag Team Championship match, one very lucky guest will win an exclusive Special Tag Team copy of WZCW’s Kingdom Come video game! This unique version of the game will feature Austin Reynolds and Showtime David Cougar on the cover as well as codes for exclusive downloadable content for characters and second attire to form WZCW’s great past teams.
Austin will also take part in a special live Q&A from those in attendance. He will take questions about his relationship with Ricky Runn, the blood feud with David Cougar and his desire to put Runn Reynolds Runn down in history as the best tag team ever. Unscripted is looking to be the craziest WZCW event in history so join the Ratings Winner as he builds up to this potentially historic event.
“This is a great spot Austin.”
“Yeah, Dom and Rob really pulled all the stops on this.”
We see the two members of Runn Reynolds Runn in front of a WZCW merchandise stall. Behind them are vast arrays of their individual merchandise as well as their newer items which take pride of place in the middle stall. Both
Ricky and
Austin are wearing the new team t-shirt, which is emblazoned with their faces and the team name.
Ricky had a big part in creating this new item and he was particularly impressed with his efforts.
“You know I’m really glad you like this.”
“Yeah I know, you keep telling me. I think it’ll go down a treat here. And this donation idea was top notch too.”
Austin gestures to a banner above the stall, which promises all monies will go to a breast cancer charity. A close friend of Ricky’s had recently been diagnosed with the disease and he had been terribly distracted since he found out the news.
“This will go down a treat.”
Chuck Myles approaches from behind the area that will stage the Q&A in a few moments.
“OK guys, are we ready to go?”
“Yeah I guess so.”
Myles walks away, but Ricky steps forward.
“Actually, Mr Myles can I have another moment with Austin please?”
Myles seems surprised by how respectful Ricky is. This is very different to the brash and ignorant lad that was punished for his birthday bash.
“Sure, just be where you need to be in five minutes.”
The UIC Pavillions were currently empty save for WZCW personnel milling around. The door were about to open and judging by the noise from outside, the atmosphere was building well.
Ricky and Austin head towards the stage. Ricky takes a seat on the edge.
“I just wanted to say sorry for what happened before.”
“OK...look, we’ve not really had a chance to talk about this. Here is what we going to do.” Austin steps away from the stage’s edge and stands next to Ricky.
“Everything that has happened before, the title match, the bad tag, everything...we are going to draw a line under it.” Austin takes a big step and Ricky follows.
“And we are going to get over it.”
They sit down again.
“Look you have my full support and I trust you completely. We will be going into the match at Unscripted and we will win the damn tag titles! Showtime wants out of the division? Lets’ throw him out with a boot up his ass.”
Ricky nods agreeing with Austin’s positive sentiment. They hear a voice from the outside the hall and the rumbling noise from outside quickly becomes loud as the hum of humanity becomes a tidal wave. Ricky and Austin say their goodbyes as Ricky is due to appear at the merchandise stall and Austin has to head backstage to prepare for the Q&A.
He sees Chuck Myles again.
“You ready for this Austin?”
“Course. Actually I’ve got something else on my mind. You see I saw you appear on Meltdown and say that we have a Captains Elimination match as our choice.....”
“Yet another first for you and WZCW.”
“That’s great and I’m delighted to be involved but what are the rules on this one?”
“Well have you chosen a captain?” Austin shakes his head.
“Well that’s your first job. The rest of it is simple. When the captain gets pinned, the match is over. But it is still an elimination match so when the captain is pinned, it could be a two versus one or one on one at that point.”
Austin smiles, he is clearly intrigued by the possibilities and one thoughts dominates his mind. Him vs Showtime.
“Yes, it could end up being you against David Cougar.”
Austin chuckles out of surprise as his boss appears to have read his mind. Myles is given a mic by a member of staff and is ushered towards the stage curtain.
“You ready for this?”
“Of course.”
“OK, one minute.”
Austin psyches himself up as Chuck Myles exits to build up the crowd. The roar surprises Austin and interrupts his internal thoughts.
“And now let’s get to the reason why you are all here. I am delighted to introduce one of the most popular wrestlers to ever work for WZCW. He continues to be hard-working and get the some of the best reactions we have ever had. He was desperately close to winning the World Heavyweight Championship and now he has set his sights on World Tag Team title gold.”x
“But no matter what, he is and will always be the one and only Ratings Winner....AUSTIN REYNOLDS!!”
Austin hesitates a little before walking out. The noise to greet him is remarkable and as he looks out, the small crowd of 250 or so are making the noise of 10,000 and Austin is both impressed and taken aback.
“This is something else.....How you guys doing?....Wow, I thought I was at MSG for a second...that was epic.”
The loud cheers show that the crowd approve.
“I’m not humbled too often but you guys do it to me every time. You know the last time I something like this was just prior to Kingdom Come III, which was also the last time I won on pay-per-view. There’s something not right about that. I mean I can’t claim to be the Ratings Winner if I am not even guaranteed to be on the damn card can I?
“And that is the problem and the great draw of Unscripted is that anything can happen. We are going to everything in our power to win the vote and wrestle the best match that we can. The fact that it will be a Captain’s Elimination match means nothing. Another defeat will be nothing more than an excuse. It won’t be acceptable, just like it won’t be an excuse for Blade or Alex Bowen or any other champion”
A young lad raises his hand in the middle of the crowd. Austin pauses and then remembers it’s a Q&A so he gestures to the lad for him to speak.
“Do...er....do you think Unscripted is the second biggest show behind Kingdom Come?”
Austin nods. It’s a good question and something that the locker room had been split on when it’s was discussed last week.
“I guess, I mean I think so. If you had asked me after last years’ show, I probably wouldn’t have agreed with you. I didn’t know if I was going to face Blade, Phoenix or Beckford. As champ that puts a huge stress on you. The match types just add to that. I never thought I would be involved in WZCW’s first Inferno match. I wanted to leave that sort of thing to Ty and Bowen; the guys who would relish that kind of environment. Chris is a friend, even more so now. Looking back, it wasn’t a fun match to be a part of.”
“But that is the kind of unpredictability that Unscripted is built on. Between the match choices, the opponents choices and having Mr freaking Baller in the Hell in a Cell, this pay-per-view has everything. Last year Chris Beckford got his third shot at the Elite X championship because the fans wanted him to be the man to beat me. They didn’t want to see Showtime lick his wounds after losing in the main event and crawl his way into the Elite X Division.”
Austin pauses and suddenly a load of outstretched hands shoot up. He laughs because he doesn’t know where to begin. One of the organisers appears to point to another excitable
youngster.
“Mr Reynolds, you haven’t beaten David Cougar...unfortunately....if you get picked, do you think you can do it this time?”
“Nothing would give me more pleasure. Cougar deserves to be in the main event of this company but while he isn’t, I don’t want to see him abandon the tag team division the way he abandoned the Elite X championship. He has the chance to reinvigorate the division in a way that hasn’t been done before. Now if he isn’t willing to do it, I will take the ball, show it to Ricky and watch us take the company by storm. Cougar has this tremendous ego that will not allow him to share the spotlight. How is that beneficial to Stan Rogers?”
Austin has been vocal in his support of Ricky Runn and his criticism of Showtime for how he treats his partner.
“Nonetheless, Stantime is a volatile combination and I want to be there where they implode. Because they will - it’s simply a matter of time. Just like the Showtime Power Trip and every other alliance that Showtime has formed because it was simply convenient for him. Cougar is a man who forms partnerships and then dismisses them at a moments’ notice. Stan Rogers is proving to be a phenomenal talent but he is confused enough without Showtime being in his life. Showtime needs Stan Rogers more than Rogers needs him.”
Austin begins to pace the stage, maybe showing his pent up energy and desire to get to Unscripted.
“I guess that’s part of Cougar’s “charm” though. It’s not enough that he is one of the best, that he is the most successful men in company history. But he wants to focus on the World Title and only defend the tag belts once a month on pay-per-view? Don’t get me wrong, there would be financial benefits to that but it only robs the fans of the value for money. Why would any wrestler who claims to be the embodiment of entertainment make such a ridiculous claim?”
The organiser points to a
young lady this time. She smiles shyly. Austin stops pacing across the stage and looks her dead in the eye. Apparently encouraged, she begins to speak.
“You could have chosen anyone in the company to be your tag partner. I don’t mean this to be a dig but why choose a rookie like Ricky Runn?”
“That’s a great question. Why do you think I picked him?”
“Because you see a lot of yourself in him?”
“Absolutely right. He is crazy talented. And he is more precocious than I was at his age and he has an earnest nature about him. When he asked me to be at Ascension 36, I couldn’t help but say yes because he was just so sincere. Since then I learned that he is eager to impress and quick to learn. He reminded me of what I wasn’t at that age. And at least he is honest about what he wants to mean to this business.”
“I had nothing to lose by helping him and creating Runn Reynolds Runn was the best career decision I’ve ever made. Not only can I help a remarkable young talent, but I can revive this flagging division. Stantime have had no opposition, after all Cougar is not going to revive the division by himself. And at Ascension 37, the RRR Express was one moment away from winning the tag team titles in our first match.”
Austin stands firm in his belief that Stantime and RRR were not too far apart but that Stantime were ones with the win from their match-up and still had the tag titles over their shoulders.
“And there is no one I would rather team with. The funny thing is I’ve often heard it muted that Cougar and I are two of a kind. That myself & Showtime could form a team that would dominate this company, the same experts said Ty & Vengeance would do the same and look what happened there. Now I’m not the smartest card in the pack but I do know that when Cougar and I share the same, the fallout is on a massive scale. It cannot end well for either of us. If I was going to form a team, it was going to be with someone who doesn’t share the narcissism and vain, insane nature of a David Cougar. I couldn’t think of teaming with someone who would so readily abandon and disrespect the fans like he does so readily.”
“Now as I’ve said Ricky is extremely talented but his youth means he is likely to make rash choices and we have already seen how that can be so influential. I’ve spoken to Ricky and he understands that he shouldn’t write cheques that his ass can’t cash. He won’t make that mistake again. So at Unscripted, I am going to tell Ricky to focus on his own actions. He doesn’t need to worry about the match type or tagging in. He just has to focus on hitting his moves and being in the right place at the right time. It’s the simple things, he doesn’t have the experience that we do and he doesn’t have the strength of Stan Rogers. His X Factor is his speed and energy – he tops us all in that regard. I am going to encourage him to use every drop of it.”
Despite another flurry of hand, the young girl puts her hand up again and this time, she doesn’t wait to be asked.
“What makes you sure that you could beat them this time around?”
“I know Showtime has taken all the credit for how the match ended but he needs to rewatch the tape. Instead of working how to be a big movie star, maybe he should consider how close we were to winning the match, we outwrestled them throughout the whole match, I had him beat and Rogers got involved as the illegal man!”
Austin begins to pace again as he talks through gritted teeth about the Stantime defeat.
“Looking at it, a Captains’ Elimination match could favour us but you can be damn sure it doesn’t favour Cougar & Rogers. Now this match is more than just me versus Showtime and Ricky versus Stanno. If it was that simple, then you would have to bet the house on them. But this business is far from straightforward.
It’s now clear that Austin’s feisty behaviour and attitude isn’t just because it’s a pay-per-view – he is getting antsy because he could be getting another chance to face David Cougar. The significance of that was not lost on him.
"What I have against Showtime is far from simple because he is a complicated character. We have an intricate history because we are two of the best and our mutual ambition is the only trait that I am happy to share with him. I can’t help but think of how Showtime has a great record against me but it’s not the be-all – and -end-all. John Constantine thought he had my number and I showed him up on the biggest stage of them all. For all I care, Unscripted may as well be Kingdom Come. It’s a huge stage and I have to step it up because of what is at risk. I would love to pin Showtime and end his sham of a tag title run.”
“And even then, I don’t think we would be through. Cougar seems to be attracted to me like a slimy magnet. Plus WZCW know they are onto a winner when we face off and they may be in a much worse state without us. That is in no small part because of how and what we do when we cross paths. We enter the mainstream and we set standards for the entire business. That’s what we are all about. It’s part of our DNA to be the most entertaining members of the roster, even if we mix like oil & water. That’s why I am teaming with Ricky, because I believe he has the potential to go to that level, to the standard that has only been exclusive to myself and Showtime, yet he will never try and end my career.”
The young girl tries to ask another question but she is shouted down by several voices and a hundred more hands.
A large guy at the back is picked out. He is wearing an out of date David Cougar t-shirt that doesn’t stretch quite over his belly and he clumsily bumps forward through the crowd to get closer to the stage.
“So think you are guaranteed a slot in the match? You have that much confidence? There are much better options! Mind Over Matter are future stars. And even the mystery team have got to be better than you and Ricky!”
Austin notices the rumblings of discontent at this somewhat negative question.
“Should we worry about the potential for Mind Over Matter to be a sustained threat? Why on earth not. They’re talented, have all the right attributes. Stantime should be worried too especially as they and the mystery team are truly unknown quantities. It’s just a shame that Mind Over Matter send me to sleep. As good as they seem to be, I’m confident that if Ricky and I ever came across them in the ring then we could stay out of their grasp and show them how entertaining true wrestling can be.”
“WZCW needs real tag teams, teams who are brothers in the ring. Mind Over Matter are just like Showtime, they seem willing to use each other, a means to an end. I don’t understand that. What’s the point in not liking the person who relies on you for success? Tag teaming requires a special relationship. Stark & Susumu need to figure out if they have anything in common before they can touch me and Ricky.”
Austin pauses, hesitant to talk much further about opponents he may not need to worry about for a while.
“But I can’t think about them. I have to focus on Showtime and Rogers and I have to trust that the WZCW Network will vote us into the match. You know, I will be delighted if just one more time, this match comes down to Showtime and I because for everything he has done to me in the past, he has it coming back tenfold!”
For the first time, the crowd erupts into loud and whooping applause. Austin smiles as he knows that these happy faces are delighted by his typically upbeat and positive response. This time he points to another happy fan. The camera fades away with The Ratings Winner happy amongst his fans once more with one thought dominant in his mind:
“I have to get in the match for these guys.”
