Gavin Taylor vs. Ricky James

[Konrad Raab]

2 RP Limit for singles

(No word limits for any match)

Deadline: 11:59:59 pm ET Saturday, September 25, 2021

[Ricky James]

Ricky James reluctantly sits at a boardroom table with Lucy Huckabee Sanders to his side and Rudy Powell across from him. Rudy flashes his trademark shit eating grin. Lucy is once again preoccupied with her phone. Ricky looks like a student bored in class as he frequently rolls his eyes and looks toward the door. He tries to ignore the sounds of Rudy Powell’s heavy breathing and grunting as Rudy looks through his paperwork. Ricky manages to tone out Rudy until he hears the sound of a drip of Rudy’s sweat catapulting off his face and splashing down onto the table. This sets Ricky off.



Ricky: What the hell are we doing here again?!


Rudy laughs.


RP: We’ve been over this, Ric. You’ve lost your damn mind, son. We gotta reign you in. Until we can trust ya to be on your own, we’re going to have these weekly meetings. Maybe if you show we can trust ya again, we’ll kick it down to biweekly, okay?


Lucy briefly looks up from her phone and notices a very frustrated Ricky. Before Ricky can respond to Rudy, Lucy puts her hand on Ricky’s arm, which calms him. Ricky looks at Lucy and Lucy smiles at him - an extremely rare sight. Ricky smiles back, stuck under the spell of Lucy. 


As much as it appeared Ricky James was his own man making his own decisions for the first time in his career, he now seems to be drifting back toward Lucy Huckabee Sanders. Ricky saw Lucy in an extremely vulnerable state prior to his match on Breakdown with Ace Marshall. Lucy had apparently been kicked out of Mike Sanders’ house and stayed with Rudy Powell until she couldn’t bear it any longer. Ricky was left considering whether or not to allow Lucy to stay with them as the two traveled together to the Breakdown show. 


It did not take much convincing; unfortunately Ricky James, a man easily manipulated, has fallen for Lucy. Lucy has taken him on an emotional rollercoaster. Ricky has had feelings for her since their faux marriage, though Lucy never shared the same feelings. Ricky was able to realize Lucy was using him while she was still keeping up this “in control” facade. When Lucy had hit rock bottom, however, and came to Ricky begging for help, Ricky felt sympathy. Lucy seized this opportunity. With a slight tone change and some friendly smiles and touching, Lucy had regained at least some control of Ricky.


While Ricky is still somewhat influenced by Lucy, the dynamic between The Silent Majority is nowhere near what it used to be. Ricky is no longer a completely blind follower but rather a reluctant participant. Ricky despises Rudy Powell, but has been blackmailed into continuing to work with him. Lucy continues to serve as a mediator and relays her unusual trust in Rudy to Ricky. Ricky doesn’t buy any of it but cares enough about Lucy to listen to her, within reason.


Back in the boardroom, Rudy Powell licks his yellow teeth and continues.


RP: Ricky, I know ya hate me. I know ya think I’m a big joke. But one day you’ll get it through ya thick skull that I am here to HELP you. How do ya think ya got the title match, huh? Why do ya think you got a match at Apocalypse, huh?


Ricky: I earn-


RP: ME, Ric! Unlike you, I don’t hold a grudge, okay? You’re my client. Lucy’s my client. I always have my clients’ best interests in mind.


Ricky: You’re full of shit, Rudy! Always have been.


Ricky turns to Lucy.


Ricky: This is ridiculous. This is a fucking circus!


Rudy, now sweating buckets, interrupts.


RP: YOU’RE THE REASON, RIC! YOU’VE LOST YA DAMN MIND! Your little Mexico whatsawhosits and Nacho Libre crap -


Ricky jumps up and Lucy has to physically restrain Ricky from going after Rudy. Rudy just laughs as Lucy holds Ricky back. Ricky takes a deep breath and slowly sits back down. Lucy gives Ricky a kiss on the cheek.


LHS: Ric, calm down.


RP: Yeah Ric, calm yaself.


Lucy quickly turns to Rudy and glares.


LHS: And Rudy, you need to chill out too. We need to be a cohesive unit here. We need to regain focus. I can’t have you two bickering like children. We have a big agenda coming up here at Apocalypse. We need to stop Gulag Gavin Traitor the Canadian Spy. And in order to do that, we need full cooperation.


Lucy turns back to Ricky.


LHS: FULL cooperation.


Ricky rolls his eyes and sighs. Rudy stands up and extends his sweat hand across the table to Ricky.


RP: She’s right. I’m sorry, Ric. Fresh start?


Rudy grins as Ricky looks the soaking wet lawyer up and down, repulsed by his old, wrinkly, damp hand in front of him. Ricky puts his hand up and shakes his head.


Ricky: We’re good, but I’m not shaking your hand. 


Rudy shrugs and sits back in his seat.


RP: Good enough for me. Lucy, please continue.


Lucy can’t help herself as she mocks Rudy before continuing.


LHS: So anyway. Ricky. I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but Rudy was right. He was the reason you had that Adrenaline Title match. He was trying to help you win. Unfortunately that bitch Holly Adams hired an entire army of disgusting middle-aged women with plastic faces to DISTRACT you and STEAL the title from you. 


Ricky: That’s not how-


LHS: But you were distracted because you weren’t focused. You’ve lost sight of what is important here.


Ricky: Lucy do you really expect me to believe-


LHS: Look Ricky - yes, we know you came from Mexico. It’s no secret, damnit! Well, not anymore thanks to you! We all know where you came from, but that doesn’t mean the people have to know!


Ricky: Why wouldn’t I be proud of where I came from?


LHS: NO ONE is proud of being Mexican, Ricky! How many times have I told you this? Mexico is the toilet of America. 


Rudy chimes in.


RP: It’s true, ya know. All of America’s sewers dump right into Mexico. 


Ricky scoffs at Rudy but allows Lucy to continue.


LHS: Every Mexican wrestler is the same, Ric. You moved to America for a reason, remember? You weren’t going to make it big in Mexico, and you aren’t going to make it big here if you can’t put that in your past. Understand? Comprende? 


Ricky groans. He had heard this all before. Lucy had tried to brainwash him when he first arrived in America. He doesn’t buy it now, but something subconsciously keeps him listening to Lucy. Maybe Ricky is starting to doubt himself a little bit again. He did lose his return match, and his match with Ace Marshall was a bit of a disappointment as it did not end cleanly. Ricky picked up the victory technically, which is all The Silent Majority would care about, but Ricky wanted a clean pinfall or submission victory. Winning a match on a technicality because Ace Marshall was losing his mind was not exactly a confidence booster for Ricky. If it isn’t a bit of self doubt, it could be Lucy’s new “calming presence”. At any rate, Ricky is at least somewhat going along with The Silent Majority’s charade.


Ricky: Lucy, I’ll listen to you guys, within reason. I can be a proud American AND a proud Mexican-


LHS: NOPE!


Rudy shakes his head.


RP: Impossible, Ric. People don’t take the shit with them when they come here, Ric. 


LHS: Ricky, Rudy knows what he’s talking about. He’s had many Mexicans work for him before.


RP: That’s right, Luce. The good ones learn English and shut the hell up about chupacabre Taco Bells. The ones that still think they’re in Mexico? 


Rudy shakes his head again, the sweat shooting off his head creating the effect of a misting fan in the room.


RP: Those ones are bad. You think they’re all good, mowing ya lawn for three bucks an hour. Then they start stealin from ya. First your money. Then your wife. Before you know it, your entire stock of Mountain Dew is gone….


Rudy seems to be speaking from personal experience as he loses focus and drifts deep into some memory. His face turns bright red, his head looking like a freshly washed McIntosh apple. There is an awkward silence in the room for a moment. Lucy and Ricky look around unsure before Rudy suddenly snaps out of it.


RP: No good I tell ya! Ricky, you gotta leave Mexico behind. This is America. Greatest Country in the World! Well, we got to get a lotta people out of this country first. That’s where you come in, Ric. Gulag Gavin is one of the biggest threats this country has even seen.


Ricky finds that incredibly hard to believe and chuckles but does not interrupt Rudy.


RP: I’m serious, Ric! This guy’s worse than ISIS. Worse than illegal Mexicans. And maybe even worse than the Democrats. I have it on good authority that Gavin is actually a Russian spy working with the Canadians to infiltrate this great country! That’s why we have ICE continuing to monitor him. And while I work on this in the courtroom, you’re going to take care of business in the wrestling ring. 


Ricky: Okay, yeah, sure. You want me to beat Gavin. I want to beat him as well. You know why?


Lucy pats Ricky on the back.


LHS: Because you’re a true Patriot, Ricky. I know you are.


Ricky stops in his tracks, thrown off by Lucy. He shakes his head.


Ricky: No, Lucy. Well, yes, I’m a proud American. You can call me a Patriot. I love this country. But Apocalypse isn’t about that. It’s about continuing to make a name for myself. Gavin Taylor is another marquee opponent. He has accomplished a lot in SCW. A win over him on PPV would -


RP: Stop the Communist agenda from spreading, yes Ricky. You’re getting it!


Ricky: No forget about the Communist-


LHS: Yes Ricky, forget the Communists. They are evil people. Unfortunately they are everywhere, trying to take over our world. They want to get rid of capitalism. They want people to starve, Ricky. And guess what?


Lucy looks Ricky up and down as Ricky looks confused.


LHS: Russians HATE Mexicans, Ric. Trust me. You do not want to live in Gorbachev Gavin’s America. It will be Canada, but worse, if you can believe that.


Ricky: Lucy what does any of this have to do with my career?


LHS: Read a history book, Ric! Cold War ring a bell to you?


Ricky: Actually yes I’ve been -


Rudy jumps in.


RP: COLD WAR, RIC! I would know, I was a veteran!


Ricky: Rudy the Cold War wasn’t- 


RP: Know why they called it the Cold War, son? Negative 50 degree windchill. Fighting off Siberian Huskies while we hunted down Commies…


Ricky bursts out laughing.


Ricky: None of that happened, Rudy.


Rudy shakes his head and laughs himself.


RP: It’s a metaphor, Ric. But you wouldn’t understand that.


Ricky starts looking around for cameras, convinced he is being Punk’d. Lucy starts banging her hand on the table like a gavel.


LHS: Okay let’s FOCUS boys! Now Ricky, what we need from you is to take the podium again…


Ricky tries to object but Lucy holds her finger up.


LHS: It is time for an Emergency Press Conference. The people need to know you had a brief lapse and you lost your mind for a few weeks. People understand that nowadays. Maybe you’ll even get some sympathy. But either way, you’re going to come out and apologize. You’re going to apologize to myself, Rudy, and all of the true Americans you have let down with this Mexico crap. And then you are going to answer some questions about your match with the Russian spy. Just like old times. Okay?


Ricky bites his lip, leans back and cracks his neck, clearly wanting no part of this. 


LHS: Ricky….


Ricky mutters under his breath “Fine”. It’s good enough for Lucy, who smiles and begins rubbing his arm.


LHS: Good. I’ve already got everything set up. Hopefully you didn’t do too much damage over the last few months and we can right the ship here….


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



September 25th, 2021
Denver, CO


Just across the street from the Pepsi Center, site of Apocalypse, we see a familiar and, quite quite honestly, excruciatingly repetitive scene. The Silent Majority, led by a disheveled Kellyanne, has yet another embarrassing makeshift press conference setup on the side of the road. The “stage” appears to be a used box spring mattress with plywood on top and old tablecloths draped over. The podium on the stage appears to be as old as Rudy, barely holding up on the stage. Two American flags behind the podium blow uncontrollably as wind gusts through.


A whopping five people make up the audience, all obvious plants dressed like rednecks who had never stepped foot in the state of Colorado. Kellyanne notices a black vehicle pulling up to the scene and quickly scrambles to pull out a 1990s CD player. She hits play and “Real American” plays, barely audible outside of the small crowd watching. Kellyanne directs the crowd’s attention to the vehicle and then runs to grab her phone and begin recording. Apparently The Silent Majority is now so low budget that Kellyanne also has to be the camerawoman.


Rudy Powell emerges from the driver’s side of the car with a massive grin on his face. Ricky steps out of the passenger’s side, drawing cheers from Kellyanne and the five fans. Rudy waddles over to the back passenger door but is pushed aside by Ricky, who opens the door for Lucy Huckabee Sanders. Lucy appears to have updated her wardrobe slightly, though a price tag is visible on the back of her dress. Lucy mutters “careful I gotta return this” as the sweaty Rudy gets dangerously close to her. Ricky again steps in front of Rudy and allows Lucy to make her way to the stage in front of him. Ricky follows Lucy up on the stage and Rudy waddles behind. 


Lucy turns to the crowd and waves briefly before signaling for Ricky to step aside and allow Rudy to begin. Ricky reluctantly listens and steps aside as Rudy Powell steps up to the podium. Rudy pulls out a stack of damp papers, licks his rotten teeth, and looks around at the crowd, squinting even though the sun is clearly behind him. Kellyanne runs over to shut the music off while trying to keep Rudy on camera. As “Real American” is abruptly shut off, Rudy begins.


RP: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. To the millions of proud Americans back home. I come with great news. In just 24 hours, The Silent Majority takes America BACK!


The five fans cheer and begin a “U-S-A! U-S-A!” chant. 


RP: I know you all have been a little concerned as of late. I know you’ve seen your hero Ricky James acting a little...funny. Well rest assured, Ricky James is here to let all of you know that was only a small setback. I’ll let Ricky elaborate, but the point is, Ricky James, True American Hero, is BACK BABY!


The small crowd cheers again, this time following up with a “RI-CKY! RI-CKY!” chant. Ricky rolls his eyes on stage, recognizing a couple of the plants from previous Emergency Press Conferences.


RP: Before we turn it over to the man of the hour, I’d like to introduce you all once again to SCW’s Official Press Secretary, the lovely LUCY HUCKABEE SANDERS!


Lucy waves and fake smiles as she walks up to the podium. Rudy attempts to grab her hand and kiss it, but Lucy quickly pulls it away and yells “Eww no”, which is picked up on Kellyanne’s recording. Rudy shrugs and awkwardly laughs before stepping away. Lucy flips her hair back and begins.


LHS: Proud Patriots, I know we have gone through some tough times as of late. SCW is in a very, very dark place. The World Champion is….


Lucy pretends she is going to vomit.


LHS: Stalina Frost. And I don’t need to go into how illegitimate and unconstitutional her title reign is…..we will have that discussion another day. But what I do want to touch on is the Communist takeover attempt from this new Russian-Canada alliance that has become out of control in SCW. It is more obvious than ever, folks. Look at the “World Champion”. STALINA. We warned you about this. We tried to tell everyone. And we tried to stop it.


Lucy sighs and shakes her head.


LHS: Unfortunately, as Rudy Powell mentioned, The Silent Majority had suffered a setback. The one man we needed to stand up to this Communist takeover had unfortunately fallen victim to…….Democratic propaganda.


Kellyanne and the crowd collectively gasp as Lucy shakes her head in disappointment.


LHS: I know. It was very sad. It was a very difficult time for The Silent Majority. Our hero Ricky James, once immune from the poison that is the Fake News Media, unfortunately succumbed to it.


Ricky looks on at Lucy in disbelief but does not interject.


LHS: The good news is, we are confident Ricky James is back on track. That is why Rudy Powell has arranged for this big match to take place at Apocalypse. It is appropriately named, because we were about to witness the Apocalypse had we not been able to save Ricky. Fortunately, the power of God and the true American spirit deep down inside Ricky James will help him overcome. And to prove that to you all, please welcome the man himself, YOUR American Hero, RICKY JAMES!!!!


The five fans, Kellyanne, and Lucy applaud. Ricky half heartedly smiles and puts his hand up to acknowledge the people as he changes places with Lucy at the podium. Ricky chuckles as the small crowd begins to chant his name again. He encourages them to quiet down so he can speak. 


Ricky: Thank you for coming out today. I wanted to say a few words to everyone who might actually be watching this, and apparently I’m going to answer some of your questions too...I guess


Lucy glares at Ricky, visibly frustrated by him not sticking to the script.


Ricky: I want to start off by apologizing.


Lucy quickly smiles as Ricky appears to be going back to the plan.


Ricky: I have done a lot of stupid things as of late. I have said a lot of things that were simply not true. I was living a bit of a “fantasy”, if you will. I wasn’t who I said I was, and I potentially let a lot of people down. I know a lot of people look up to me. Young children may see me as a role model. And I’m afraid I have sent some bad messages to those kids.


Ricky pauses to collect his thoughts. The crowd stays quiet.


Ricky: I have a big match against Gavin Taylor tomorrow night in that very arena. This match is over a year in the making. Most of you should remember, very early on in my SCW career, I had some history with Gavin. Lucy Huckabee Sanders and myself lost a match to Gavin and his partner, Aubrianna Powers. I don’t want to touch on the specifics of that match. I only bring it up because that match left Gavin and myself with some unfinished business. Well, at least unfinished business in Gavin’s eyes. You see, I had honestly moved on from Gavin. And I will get back to that in a bit.


Lucy and Rudy look a bit confused as it seems Ricky is veering off script again.


Ricky: Let’s circle back to what I originally said, though. I need to get a few things off my chest before I can focus on Gavin tomorrow night. I mentioned doing stupid things as of late. And by as of late, I meant over the last year and a half.


Lucy’s eyes go wide.


Ricky: Yes, I did some very STUPID things.


Ricky turns back and quickly glares at Lucy and Rudy before turning back to the crowd.


Ricky: Stupid things like Emergency Press Conferences and stupid things like associating with Rudy Powell.


Rudy tries to interrupt but Ricky talks over him.


Ricky: I lied to everyone about who I was. I have since come clean to the world. I did not have a “setback” over the last few months. If anything, I’ve had an epiphany. After struggling to accept who I truly was, I finally embraced it. You all know me now as Ricky James, or Ricardo Jiminez, proud MEXICAN-American. 


Lucy lets out a scream in the background, absolutely furious. Rudy attempts to calm her down but is met with a slap from Lucy, causing the sweaty attorney to fall over in his chair. Ricky ignores the chaos behind him and the gasps from the crowd and continues to talk to Kellyanne, who continues to record.


Ricky: I needed to get that off my chest, and I am glad you are recording, Kellyanne. I really really doubt it, but I really really hope that Gavin Taylor is watching this. I want to apologize to the fans out there, but I also want to apologize to you, Gavin. I mean it. I’ve tried to show you over the last few weeks that I am a changed man. If my sincerity didn’t mean anything to you on the last few Breakdowns, I hope this “press conference” here, with me publicly denouncing The Silent Majority, helps change your mind. Right here on camera I want to announce to you, Gavin Taylor, that I am sorry for the crap I pulled last year. I apologize for that call to ICE, and I can assure you whatever threats you may be getting from Rudy Powell are empty.


Ricky looks back at Rudy, still withering in pain. Lucy has completely vacated the stage and given up on the press conference at this point. She can be heard screaming as she gets back into the back of the car, though no one is there to drive her off. She slams the door behind her and can still be heard screaming. Ricky shakes his head and continues.


Ricky: As I said before, I had moved on from Gavin. But Gavin wasn’t over what I did to him. And after giving it some thought, I don’t really blame him. I can say I moved on, but I never apologized. I hadn’t seen the wrong in what I had done until recently. And while no one likes to be sneak attacked, Gavin coming after me was a good wakeup call. Gavin, I don’t blame you for what you did. I’m actually glad you did it. You had unfinished business with me, and you reminded me that I had unfinished business with you. We lost that tag match early in my career when I was a blind follower of The Silent Majority. There were all sorts of distractions. Now I’m not blaming anyone else here but myself. I’m not taking anything away from you. You are one of the best competitors in SCW. It will be an absolute honor to take you on one on one tomorrow night. I hope you can accept my apology and I hope we can have a good, clean match to settle this once and for all. 


The crowd stays quiet, unsure what to make of all this. They had been instructed to react a certain way but Ricky has gone completely rogue. Ricky senses the uneasiness of the crowd.


Ricky: Oh, I almost forgot. Any questions?


Ricky smiles as the 5 plants and Kellyanne look at each other cluelessly. After a few moments of confusion, Ricky continues.


Ricky: Good. I’m glad I cleared everything up. You see, this isn’t a battle over some “Communist takeover”. This isn’t the Cold War Part 2. It’s not a sign of the Apocalypse. It is, however, a very intriguing matchup. If Rudy Powell had actually cared to do some REAL research, he would have found this is actually an interesting pairing between two superstars. Gavin is very similar in size to me. Gavin uses some of the same wrestling styles. Gavin even competed in Mexico! It’s amazing what you’ll learn when you actually do research yourself instead of relying on the word of a con man. 


Rudy tries to mutter something in protest, but all the crowd can hear is his continued moaning in pain.


Ricky: I’ve actually studied my opponent this time. It helps to actually watch films of matches. It helps to go back and look at what went wrong in that tag match and to make adjustments. Who knew that studying a sheet of wet papers full of nothing but conspiracy theories wasn’t the proper way to prepare for a match?


Ricky laughs as the crowd still has no idea how to react.


Ricky: Anyway, I am sure you fine people have better places to be on a Saturday than here. I’ll wrap this up. Gavin Taylor, I once again apologize for my past actions and thank you for giving me this opportunity. I really feel like we are about to put on a show for these people. Tomorrow night, we settle this like men. Tomorrow night I will prove to you, all of SCW, and everyone watching in the arena and at home, that I am a changed man. And unlike Rudy Powell, Lucy Huckabee Sanders, and the old “Silent Majority”, I won’t just tell you, I will show you. Dios bendiga a México! God Bless America!


Ricky puts his arms up in the air then flashes a grin to Kellyanne, who hasn’t stopped filming. The crowd stays stunned silent as Ricky laughs his way off the stage.

[Corner G]

https://allstargavintaylor.wordpress.com...pocalypse/