The Open Challenge (Open to Kraz/Ghost)

by **Johnny Reynolds** Fri Sep 15, 2017 11:06 pm

The scene fades in from black, and "Highly Suspect" by My Name Is Human, which is known to be Johnny Reynolds' theme song, plays throughout the arena. The instant mixed reactions from the live viewers and their vulgar signs hoisted in the air acknowledge the man behind the entrance curtain. 'Dead End Reynolds', 'Come Claim Me', and 'You're sh!t out of Luck.' It was clear who they invited in, albeit everything around had dimmed to a thick black except for fluorescent strobes of light spiraling around clockwork, searching the inside of the arena. Heads continuing to turn in the dark at every available direction in the search for roguish twenty-five year-old, it's then up in a particular staircase that the shadowed contour of Johnny Reynolds slowly trudges down the cold steps at his own leisure with a beer bottle in his left hand.

As the lyrics pursue, his surly pout emerging through the touch of light. He swings his arms loosely to their sides with a hint of cockiness in his movement. This is Johnny, soaked up with an aggressive form of confidence in the midst of a crowd reaching for him on his way down. Both of his shriveled up, glacial blue eyes remaining fixated with the ring, and never turning away to give care to those calling out to him. He quickly slides over the barricade upon contact, scoffing at everyone and everything with a saucy grunt before rolling his leather jacket-clad heap inside the ring. A ring attendant tosses to Reynolds a microphone as Johnny catches it. A few seconds pass, and he begins to speak.

Johnny Reynolds: So this is my new ring and I gotta wrestle with new competition, new talent, all that.. should be fun though, but after I arrived to this mess of an arena and I don't think anyone in their locker rooms are in the level of Johnny Reynolds.. yet. I mean, they didn't look like professional wrestlers, and they still don't. They seem like people from some dark alleyway and UCW just hired 'em to fill their roster up. Well.. at least they got me, The Son of Chaos and The Devil of Ultraviolence. We’ll get to why that name exists quite soon, but let’s focus on the task at hand. At UCW's first PPV, I arrived to this place. Now, for your sake, it’s best that you don’t know a damn thing about me outside the ring, and brace yourself for what I can do in it. Ever since 2010, I’ve taken the world of wrestling by storm. They say a man cannot walk on water, but hey, I was able to survive a freaking explosion and walk out a champion. That, of course, was in a different place at a different time. We’re not there now.

Johnny smirks, which that then turns into a laugh.

Johnny Reynolds: I know what you’re thinking. You may say, “Piss off! You’re only thirty one years old, you couldn’t have possibly managed to accomplish so much in such a short amount of time. Only legends who are actually way more big in terms of age can obtain a lot.” To that, I say, try harder. For far too long, I’ve had the likes of older in-ring veterans look down upon me, only to fall victim to the Devil of Ultraviolence. In this sport, you’ve got people who want to underestimate you, who want to make generalizations. But here’s something you don’t know: what I do to people inside the ring, is not for the faint of heart. Generalize me all you want, but at the end of the day, I am nothing but an unpredictable force to be reckoned with. Just when you think you have the upper hand on me, I’ll claw your eyes out so bad, you’ll be begging for some sort of sympathy. But alas, devils do not give out sympathy, in fact, I know of no such thing.

Recall that nickname I alluded to a few minutes back, the ‘Devil of Ultraviolence?’ I didn’t just chose the nickname just to be some sort of king of the edgelords. Nor did I make it up to make myself more intimidating. No, they call me the Devil of Ultraviolence because of what I have done to people. ‘Devil,’ because there’s no such thing as goodness within me - I gave up that shtick a long damn time ago. And here’s a newsflash for you: we are all monsters. We all have a Hell in which we retreat to, be it a temporary stay, or a permanent dwelling, just like I’ve made it for myself. And what does Ultraviolence mean to me? Simply put, it’s a way of life. A power that supersedes all man-made powers, like pride, bravery, courageousness. Ultraviolence is much more. It is a combination of the world’s deadliest sins, and with it, I am unstoppable. Soon, I shall teach the world what Ultraviolence means to me, and why it’s important that you take notice of my abilities sooner rather than later. You wouldn’t want to end up like the men I’ve faced in the USA. And after tonight, no one would want to end up like Aurora.

There is a slight pause. Johnny laughs again, but is quickly cut short as he’s on the offensive once more.

Johnny Reynolds: Now, men like Aurora, they’ll never understand. Hell, it’s not even worth trying to convince this man to step into the light, to the power of the ol’ Ultraviolence. You see Aurora, there’s not much for me to really “prove” here in UCW. For I was chosen to do to you what I did back in my years in the USA. I was banished by my old country. See, what I did to people down there will not be the same as what I’ll do to you, Aurora. No, this is what people call the big leagues. What I did back then, I’ll be doing at a much larger scale, to the biggest joke in Universal Championship Wrestling. Winning my debut match against the ‘Trill Fairy’ seems easy enough, but I’d much rather showcase what I’m truly capable of to the world before I do so. Through brute force, you will fall to the Devil himself. And hey, I’m getting paid a good amount of cash just to win, so I better make it worth my while. I’m afraid you won’t call yourself the most hottest man alive after our match, because I’ll leave your body so unrecognizable, people won’t be able to tell you apart from all the deformed miscarriages at the local hospital. Hell, why even bother taking a fool like yourself so seriously? You’ll be no different from all the other cocky pricks I’ve had the duty of beating senseless - you’ll end up in a bodybag. Claim that you're a former champion in some other federation or something. Something like a Hardcore Champion. Great. I, however, don’t need a championship to prove how ‘hardcore’ I truly am. For years, I’ve thrown caution to the wind and put my body on the line, and I must say, it has paid off well. Here I stand, in America. And now, I have the pleasure to debut in a company that was built off the hardcore and some tradition classic side of wrestling, the same side I have exposed for the world to see for nearly half a decade.

Johnny takes a few seconds to pace a full circle of the ring, taking in the audience.

Johnny Reynolds: He may be a delusional man and I would say that I'd pity him for that, but I don’t. But he looks like he's some man who calls himself the measuring stick of UCW. Ha! Don’t make me laugh. Good to know that it’s not a measuring stick for your stuff otherwise there wouldn't be much to compare to. Yeah, I’ve got jokes too. But none of them will ever compare to the living, breathing joke known as... oh what did he call himself again? ‘Big Stuff Man Aurora?’ I think you fail to realize that I am not here for the popularity, sir, or maybe though, but I am mostly here for glory. I am here to steal away any and all accolades all for myself. You can call me a rookie all you want, Aurora, but you’re only underestimating me, and that, is yet another fatal flaw that will lead you to your demise come tonight. That squared circle is mine for the taken, make no mistake about it. I know how to take advantage of my surroundings, it’s what makes me unpredictable. See, you can study my moves all you want, but you can never predict how or when I’ll hit them. Think you can out pace me? It’ll only make you grow tired, and by then, I’ll be taking my time to dismember you, limb by limb. But do not fret, both are common mistakes previous opponents have made when facing the Devil of Ultraviolence. I exceed generalizations because a man of my caliber cannot be tamed. I cannot be bound by labels, names, and the like. I almost feel sorry for those who're in attendance in here. They do allow live murder on television, right? No? Oh well.

As Johnny is holding what could be most beloved to him, a good ol' beer bottle, he twists the cap off with his bare teeth.

Johnny Reynolds: You wouldn’t know what this company would do without you? Well, without Aurora, the ratings for Velocity could increase by a bit of a good amount. Hell, I would be keen on taking your place, because an ignoramus such as yourself has no role in this land. You wouldn’t know what this company would do without you? I’ll give you a preview of what it’s like, lad. After our match, you will fall victim to the Devil, and you shall fade into a hideous irrelevancy, knowing that you couldn’t get the job done against a so called ‘rookie.’

He takes a long gulp of the beer before continuing.

Johnny Reynolds: People could be right about one thing, now that I think about it. They say I do not belong in this era. In an era where clowns are champions, where intelligent men are pushed aside in a match that ultimately means nothing, that if there are clever men anyway. That’s not the era I belong in. Not one bit. No worries though, soon, we will see the turn of this rancid era when I take over with my many talents. And after this week’s edition of Velocity, we shall all bear witness to the Era of Reynolds.

After our first encounter, Aurora will only be carrying the dead weight of who he once was. For after you meet the Devil of Ultraviolence, you will no longer be the same. I am not a man, I am not a monster. But I am made of filth; what lies within me is purely sin and destruction. You think you can beat me senseless, yeah? Stick in a few jabs here and there and then cut my forehead wide open? Been there, done that. After tonight, you, along with everyone else in UCW will recognize that I truly am a demon. We are all made with a heart full of darkness, but I am here to free you from society’s crutches.

I shall expose the darker side of humanity. Next, I will let the darkness consume mankind whole. Then, and only then, will the power of Ultraviolence be able to seep through and infest everyone with its wickedness. Am I getting ahead of myself? No. I am only preparing for the worst that is yet to come. And if you accept me as your shepherd, your fate will be far less humiliating. Now, enough with this scary talk crap if you think it is one, and let's talk about why I came out here.

I'm issuing an open challenge, yeah, you heard me, since Aurora will die today anyway. So yeah, whoever has the damn guts to accept the challenge, come out here and I might have some respect for you 'cause of your bravery, but you gotta know bro that it'll be thrown out of the window as we face each other in this freaking ring. Now let's do this!

Johnny then throws the beer bottle as it crashes on the ring mat, his face looking determined as he waits patiently.